Twisted Switch
by DarkWoods
Summary: What would happen if Elena and Katherine switched bodies? Starting at the end of Homecoming 3x09, and rewriting history. After an attempted spell, Elena is now a vampire and Katherine is in her body...and human! Delena-centric, but sprinkled with various pairings. (A/N; Being thrust into a vampire body through magic is nothing like vamp!Elena S4)
1. Chapter 1: Time Standing Still

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

Welcome to Twisted Switch...

This story sprang from a simple idea; what would happen if Elena and Katherine switched bodies? They would look the same, but Elena would now be a vampire and Katherine would be human again. At first it seemed silly, but we get to explore what Elena might be like if she were ever turned, without her actually having to turn. And what about Katherine? The only reason she ever became a vampire was to escape Klaus' sacrifice.

As with most stories, this one starts out with a spell. Trying to protect Elena from Klaus, Bonnie sets out to cast a spell without realizing the consequences of what it would mean to keep Elena safe. Delena-centric; rated M language now, and lemony-freshness later.

**A/N; I always get nervous when I open a story and there is no author's note... I try to keep it as canon as possible, fan fic too out of character gives me hives... Happy Reading!**

**This first chapter takes place at the end of Homecoming, 3x9. Bare with the story, because the first few chapters are all about rewriting history. I also love to explore what could-a, should-a happened. So...take a trip down memory lane and see what would unfold if there had been some kiss action that night in the Salvatore living room.**

Twisted Switch

_Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life. ~William Faulkner_

Chapter One: Time Standing Still

"How did this happen?" exclaimed an emotional Elena. Her earlier feelings of relief and happiness at the fact that Damon had returned to the boarding house safe, and alive, were now being replaced with feelings of confusion and anxiety.

Damon was furious. Although this wasn't anything like the unpredictable furious he usually displayed. This was different. This was a hurtful furious. A defeated furious. An anger from someone who's last flicker of hope had just been extinguished.

"We thought of everything, Elena! Klaus having hybrids! Mikael turning on us! We brought in Katherine so you weren't in danger! Anything that could have gone wrong, we were prepared!" He downed his drink savagely and poured himself another.

"I don't understand. Stefan wanted Klaus dead. More than anything. That's what we were counting on." More confusion flooded her mind as she was starting to comprehend just what Damon was telling her.

They were both feeling the hot sting of betrayal, and loss. Stefan had made an unbelievable choice to double-cross them and save Klaus' life. An unreadable pain danced in Damon's clear blue eyes. "We blew it," he said bitterly, looking into the fire.

"Where's Katherine?"

"She ran for the hills, like usual. The minute things got bad! And who blames her? Klaus would've crushed her." Damon paused and walked around to her, "I had him, Elena." He was so angry that she thought tears might spill from his eyes. "I had Klaus! This could have all been over!" Damon threw the bottle of alcohol into the fireplace. He watched as the fire roared then settled again, as if it was mimicking his emotions.

"Hey. Damon. Hey!" Elena tried to grab his arm to turn him towards her, but he pulled away still staring at the fire. This didn't stop her. More determined, she grabbed his face with both her hands and swung him around with as much force as she could gather.

Damon finally gave up, and fell into her fiery gaze. "Listen to me." As she spoke, the hurt started to consume his face, pushing all the other emotions away. "We'll survive this. We always survive. Trust me."

"We're never getting Stefan back. You know that, don't you?"

It was then that Elena realized that Damon had been hanging on harder than her, and that the painful loss of his brother was just starting to sink in. "Then we'll let him go. Okay? We'll have to let him go." As the words escaped her lips, she knew that she had already let Stefan go. She didn't know when it had happened, but it had happened.

Damon nodded his head. His feelings were twisted up with torturous thoughts. He felt so defeated. Damon was enraged at his brother for his treason, hurt for him running off and leaving, but Elena was holding his face in her hands. It was hard to fight the growing need for comfort he was feeling. He wanted to kiss her. He always wanted to kiss her.

Almost as if she was reading his mind, Elena looked into his eyes, past the pain, and saw the want in them. She started to slightly lean into him. All she wanted to do was take his hurt away. Elena was acutely aware of how close they now were. She lowered her gaze to his lips, and stared at them until he whispered her name, "Elena..."

She felt that he was starting to pull away, so she held his face more firmly. She wasn't letting him go. He started to protest, "Elena-" but she cut him off.

"Shh. Damon, don't say anything," and with that his world exploded.

Elena pulled him close and found his lips with hers. Damon felt a moment of awe, before melting into her kiss. His hands glided up to cradle her angelic face. She gently let her hands move to the back of his neck. They kissed softly, lightly. A moment later, they pulled away, searching into each others eyes. "Damon...I think I should go."

He gave her a half smile and shook his head, "Yeah..." He took a heavy breath, "Goodnight, Elena." He pulled his hands away from her face.

She sighed, and let go in return, "Goodnight, Damon."


	2. Chapter 2: Running From the Devil

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

Welcome to Twisted Switch...

This story sprang from a simple idea; what would happen if Elena and Katherine switched bodies? They would look the same, but Elena would now be a vampire and Katherine would be human again. At first it seemed silly, but we get to explore what Elena might be like if she were ever turned, without her actually having to turn. And what about Katherine? The only reason she ever became a vampire was to escape Klaus' sacrifice.

As with most stories, this one starts out with a spell. Trying to protect Elena from Klaus, Bonnie sets out to cast a spell without realizing the consequences of what it would mean to keep Elena safe. Delena-centric; rated M language now, and lemony-freshness later.

**A/N; I always get nervous when I open a story and there is no author's note... I try to keep it as canon as possible, fan fic too out of character gives me hives... Happy Reading!**

**Hope everyone liked the last chapter. I know it was short, but hopefully it was sweet. I tried to keep their first kiss kind of realistic, except I HAD to have Elena be the one to make the move. Hope you liked that :)**

**This chapter is a little Stefan/Katherine. Not too much of re-writing history...more of history repeating...but did you notice? No Katherine phone call...**

Twisted Switch

_We run away all the time to avoid coming face to face with ourselves. ~Author Unknown_

Chapter Two: Running from the Devil

Through the cool night air, towards the outskirts of Mystic Falls, a car was racing away from the town. Inside was an uneasy brunette, and a melancholy vampire. It was the brunette that broke the strange silence that had been encircling the both of them.

"Damon won't know where it all went wrong," she lamented to the sombre gentleman sitting in her passenger seat.

"He doesn't need to know."

After a few moments, she tried to break the silence once more, "Stefan?" However, he wasn't paying any attention. Instead he was starting to stare off into a recent memory.

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He was still laying on the floor, his head reeling, when he heard the familiar voice. "Stefan!"

"Elena?"

"Not exactly." Stefan then realized it was Katherine who was tossing the bag of blood down beside him. "Pep up! I only have a minute before they realize I'm not at the party."

Katherine quickly explained to him what Klaus had let slip to 'Elena'.

After the briefest silence, an impatient Katherine yelled at him, "Stefan? Did you hear me? If Klaus gets killed he is taking Damon down with him."

"So pull the plug on the plan," he said sounding unamused, and under-enthused.

"And face the wrath of Mikael? We'll all be dead!" Stefan looked away, seeming a little more concerned, but not enough for her. "Ok! Look, I know that you've turned off your humanity and that you don't care, so there's only one solution."

"What's that?"

"Care, Stefan." Her words somehow spoke to him, and he could feel her starting to pierce into his humanity. "Care enough to save Damon's life. Because I am going back to that party, and I'm seeing this plan through. Klaus will be killed. We'll have our freedom." Katherine paused so she could change the severity, and urgency, in her voice, "But then Damon will be dead. Your brother will be dead, Stefan! Unless you care enough to do something about it!"

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"Stefan!" Kathrine stopped the car on the side of the road.

Stefan snapped out of his memory. He then regained a little bit of his new found cockiness, "How did you know that I would stop Damon?"

"I didn't," she sighed, "I was just hoping that you would want to."

"You wanted Klaus dead for 500 years. Why would you risk all that, just to safe Damon's life?"

"I wasn't just trying to save Damon's life, Stefan. I was trying to safe yours. Your humanity" Stefan's eyes looked over her, as he realized that she was another person in his life that cared enough to try and save him. "Let's just say I liked the 'old you' better."

Stefan changed his expression. He was fighting everything inside him that was trying to turn his humanity back on. "Naaah...come on, Kathrine! You don't care about anybody but yourself. You never have."

"You and I both know that is not true," she said calmly, but with firm resolve. "I loved you. I've loved Damon, too." It was with those words that he knew she was being completely, and brutally, honest. As much as he was willing his flip to stay down, Stefan had to admit that everything she had done that evening, had been out of love for the two brothers. "Humanity is a vampire's greatest weakness. No matter how easy it is to turn it off, it just keeps trying to fight it's way back in. Sometimes I let it."

He swallowed hard, "I can't let it all back in. I don't want to. Not after everything I've done."

"Of course you don't want to," Katherine exasperated, "but if you don't let yourself feel..." She had trailed off waiting for him to look her way. When Stefan's eyes finally met hers, she continued, "You won't be able to do what I need you to do next!"

"What's that?" he said smiling naughtily.

"Get mad," she drawled, her voice dripping with poisonous honey. A mischievous smirk danced across her mouth.

Stefan seemed surprised, but with one eyebrow raised, and an expression to match her own, he murmured, "What did you have in mind?"

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The next day brought a sunny welcome for the most feared Original. Klaus definitely had a "hitch in his giddy-up," and why shouldn't he? Mikael was dead, and he was finally free. He thought of how happy Rebekah would be, and how Elijah and him could truly be brothers again.

He was extremely chipper as he talked into his mobile. "Rebekah...where are you? Pick up the phone, darling. Daddy is dead! It's time for a family reunion."

Klaus had waited centuries upon centuries to free his werewolf side, create an army of hybrids, and bring his family back together. He would finally get everything he ever wanted. He thought nothing could ruin his obviously bright future in Mystic Falls.

His phone hummed; another call. He was pleasantly surprised to see who it was. "Stefan! Miss me already?"

_I'm just calling to thank you for my freedom._

"Oh...I like to believe I'm a man on my word, more or less." Klaus didn't notice the monotone coldness on the other end.

_Thing is...it came at to high of a price. You took everything from me, Klaus. _

"Let bygones be bygones. Trust me, resentment get's old." He had just reached the truck, excited to move his casket-ed family to their new home.

_You know what never get's old? Revenge._

Klaus flung up the truck's door only to reveal that it was empty. His coffins, his family, were gone. "No," he said incredulously, not wanting to believe that the vampire he thought was his friend had just done what he had done.

_What's the matter, Klaus? Missing something?_

"What are you doing?"

_Just enjoying my freedom. _

"I will kill you and everyone you've ever met," he said ferociously. The rage starting to boil up in him.

_You do that, and you will never see your family again. I wonder Klaus, as someone who has been one step ahead for a thousand years, were you prepared for this?_


	3. Chapter 3: Holding On and Letting Go

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

Welcome to Twisted Switch...

This story sprang from a simple idea; what would happen if Elena and Katherine switched bodies? They would look the same, but Elena would now be a vampire and Katherine would be human again. At first it seemed silly, but we get to explore what Elena might be like if she were ever turned, without her actually having to turn. And what about Katherine? The only reason she ever became a vampire was to escape Klaus' sacrifice.

As with most stories, this one starts out with a spell. Trying to protect Elena from Klaus, Bonnie sets out to cast a spell without realizing the consequences of what it would mean to keep Elena safe. Delena-centric; rated M language now, and lemony-freshness later.

**A/N; I always get nervous when I open a story and there is no author's note... I try to keep it as canon as possible, fan fic too out of character gives me hives... Happy Reading!**

**Thank you, thank you MoonNightLover for my first review! Xoxo! And thank you to everyone for adding Twisted Switch to your story alerts! So exciting!**

**After re-watching these scenes, I have to say that Day-Drunk-Damon is one of my favorites! I had fun adding subtext and sexual overtones to this overlooked scene (at least I think it seems to be overlooked). And now, we finally get into some original scenes...Damon + Beer = sappy vampire confessions (maybe he should stick to brown liquor).**

**Speaking of... Whiskey, Scotch, or Bourbon? Has anyone figured that one out? :)**

Twisted Switch

_Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak; sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go. ~Author Unknown_

Chapter Three: Holding On and Letting Go

Nearly two weeks had passed since Operation Destroy Klaus had been foiled. Stefan was gone. Along with Katherine. And a now-unstoppable Klaus hadn't shown any form of retaliation. In fact, he hadn't shown his face in town at all. Things had been eerily uneventful.

Today, Elena and Bonnie were having coffee at the Grill. Elena found she was spending more and more time there. It had become surprisingly crowded lately. Every time she saw a new face, someone she didn't recognize, she would panic and wonder if they were one of Klaus' hybrids.

Another reason she had been flocking to the Grill so often was to keep an eye on Damon. He had apparently decided to take up residency at the bar.

Astonishingly enough, they had never discussed the kiss they shared that night in the Salvatore boarding house, and Elena had not been back since. And even though they weren't talking about it, it was constantly hanging in the air.

Sometimes she would catch herself lingering a little too long and a little too close to him, mesmerized by his soft lips. Other times he would make his usual innuendos, but would slowly advance on her with ravenous eyes. Elena was constantly amazed at their uncanny ability to share the most intimate of moments, and still pretend that they were 'friends'.

When Damon wasn't at the bar, he was at Elena's house. More often than not he would make up an excuse saying he needed to see Alaric, but Elena knew he was checking up on her safety. And it was something she silently appreciated. Recent events had kept her on a constant edge. The only nights that she was getting any kind of rest were the nights that Damon 'accidentally' fell asleep on their couch.

Elena was happy to have a little bit of alone time with Bonnie, even if the mood at their table was glum and inauspicious. "I feel like I´m going crazy. Totally paranoid all the time."

"You have a right to be," Bonnie reassured her. "Klaus is still out there, and he knows you tried to kill him."

"Why hasn't he made a move? There hasn't been any sign of him...nothing." Elena ran her hands through her hair, "It's just my slow spiral into insanity."

"Join the club. Every time I close my eyes, I have that nightmare. On repeat."

"The same dream?"

"Yeah, four coffins. Klaus is in one of them...it´s weird."

"What if it´s not just some dream? What if it´s like... you know...a witch dream?"

Bonnie shook her head, "It´s just stress. I´ll figure it out." She paused hesitantly, but decided to ask her question anyway, "And what about Stefan? Has there been any sign of him?"

Elena took a deep breath, "He betrayed us Bonnie. The Stefan that we know is gone."

"How is Damon handling it?" she said, actually feeling compassion for the vampire that she usually held contempt for.

"Damon is...Damon. But, I can tell that he really misses his brother."

Bonnie watched Elena's eyes grow with contemplation, but she couldn't tell if the look in her eyes was for Stefan or Damon. "What about you? You seem to be taking this fairly well," Bonnie paused, as she moved her eyes towards the bar, "better than Damon it seems." Elena swung her head around to look over her shoulder.

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"Alright! You have your choice," declared the tipsy vampire at the bar, "Bloody Mary, or Screw Driver? Brunch in a bottle!" Damon threw back his vodka shot. He chased it with a little OJ straight from the glass carafe. He groaned at a somber Alaric sitting next to him. "Come on, Ric...I can´t drink all this about myself. I mean, I can, but...somebody´s getting _naked_," Damon enunciated as his eyes trailed towards the table where he expected to see the back of shiny chestnut locks. Instead, he was shocked to find big brown eyes staring right into his. He quickly brushed off his excitement and raised his glass to Elena, before quickly turning back to Alaric. "Oh man, I can´t believe you making me drink alone."

"I´m busy."

"It´s the eve of Klaus-ageddon. What are you doing? Homework?"

"This may come as a shock, but I am not here to hang out with you," Alaric lightly scolded, "I´m here to see Jeremy...who is an hour late for his shift."

"Kids today. Where are their values?"

Disappointingly exasperated, "That´s his mid-term paper. He copied it straight out off the internet...didn't even try to hide it."

"Uh-ooh. Someone's getting grounded!"

"Did you say you are waiting for Jeremy," interjected the bartender, "as in Jeremy Gilbert?"

"Yeah." Alaric wasn't going to like what she said next.

"He was fired last week."

"Oops..." chimed in a still tipsy Damon. Alaric just rolled his eyes.

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A triumphant smile crossed Damon's lips as his dart landed right on the bulls-eye! Over his shoulder he could hear an irritated Elena approaching.

"Jeremy, the minute that you get this call me!" She hung up her phone just as Damon turned around to face her. "Unbelievable!"

He seductively raised an eyebrow, "You are _feisty_ when you're mad." He gave her one of his famous smirks.

She felt a slight flutter, but was too troubled by her brother's recent behavior to react. "It's not that I'm mad. I'm just...I'm worried."

"He lost his job at the Grill. He'll survive, Elena," he tried to reassure her.

"He is spiraling. Ever since Bonnie broke up with him. He's moody. He's not really talking to anyone."

"Typical teenager," dismissed Damon as he turned back to his game of darts.

"Who has seen ghosts, and has lost everyone that he cares about."

"Not everyone. He still has you."

Elena's worry was now starting to move to Damon. She began to wonder if talking about her brother was reminding Damon of his.

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A few days before Elena had come to the Grill to check on him. She found him sitting alone in a back booth, just looking out into the crowd. Any other time he'd be at the bar drowning his sorrows. Elena didn't know what had come over her, but instead of sitting across from him, she slid into the seat next to him.

He didn't have any inappropriate innuendos, or snarky comments. He didn't say anything. All he did was give her a small crooked smile.

Once it was clear that he didn't plan on making conversation, she was forced to speak. "You're drinking a beer," she said discouragingly.

He rolled his eyes, and smirked, "Tell me, Elena. Was it hard to earn your degree in stating the obvious?"

Laughing, she said, "Now there's the Damon I know!" She continued in a quiet voice, "Knew he was in there somewhere."

He couldn't help but let a smile escape that was devoid of any snark or sarcasm. His mood had seemed to lighten a bit. "So, What? Are you checking up on me?"

"Do you need to be checked up on?"

He let out a hollow chuckle to himself. Then a look came into his eyes that she had never really seen before. "Did I ever tell you about the day I sprung Stefan from Vampire Rehab?"

She stared at him, and shook her head uncomfortably.

He then wove her a tale about their brother bonding experience, and how Stefan had saved his life yet again. Damon made sure to leave out the parts of him letting Stefan bite the pretty blonde bartender. He confessed that it had been one of the first times, in their vampire lives, that they had related to each other as brothers on their own terms. He ended by saying, "The Salvatore brothers...once the best of friends."

Elena was starting to realize that Damon was hanging onto as much hope as she was. The only difference was that even though Elena wanted to help Stefan, she didn't want him back. She had already let him go. Poor Damon hadn't. She could tell he wanted his brother back.

"Maybe I should have listened to you, and kept him locked up."

"Damon..."

"It's ok, Elena," he said pushing the half empty pint glass away from himself. "You're right. Beer was a _bad_ idea."

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Elena was now watching Damon retrieve his darts from everywhere on the board, but the bulls-eye. Her memory brought back even more concern for Damon. "You ok?"

"What makes you think I'm not ok?"

"Well, you're day-drunk," Elena articulated, "It's not exactly your most attractive look."

He swaggered towards her, "Hmm," he purred, "And what is my most attractive look?" He was now invading her space with his unrestrained sexuality. Elena could feel her skin start to heat up. She could feel a flush overtaking her body, but she pushed it away.

"Ah-ah," she gently pushed him back, letting her hands linger a little too long on his muscular chest. "I'm not saying you have any attractive look. I'm just saying this is my least favorite one."

"Noted. I'll see if I can make an improvement." He gave her one of his classic, sexy eye-things. She tried to roll her eyes, but ever since they had kissed white-hot, electric chills shot up and down her body every time he did that. The worst part, was that Damon seemed to notice.

Suddenly they were both ripped out of their perfect private moment by a voice that automatically filled them with panic.

"Don't mind me."

"Klaus!" She gasped.

Stepping in to guard Elena, Damon apprehensively gritted, "Really? You're gonna do this in the Grill, in front of everyone? It's little beneath you, don't you think?"

Klaus' sickly sweet smile disappeared, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate." Damon and Elena both figured the man to be one of Klaus' hybrids. "Get a round in, would you Tony?"

"I'm surprised you stuck around town long enough for happy hour," Damon bravely declared.

"My sister seems to be missing. Need to sort that out."

"Cute blonde bombshell...psycho. Shouldn't be too hard to find."

"Truth is, I've grown to rather like your little town. Think I might fancy a home here." He approached Damon and took the darts out of his hands. "Oh, I imagine you're wondering how this affects you. The answer is...not in the slightest. As long as I get what I want and everyone behaves themselves, you can go on living your little lives however you choose." He fired a dart straight into the bulls-eye, then turned his gaze to Elena. "You have my word."

She could feel a steel knot start to twist in the pit of her stomach as she spoke, "What more could you possibly want?"

"Oh for starters, you can tell me where I might find Stefan."

Klaus started to move towards Elena.

"Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass," Damon stated, stepping in front of Klaus, forcing him to move away from Elena.

"Well you see, that is a shame." Klaus threw another dart. "Your brother stole from me. I need him found, so I can take back what's mine."

"That sounds like a 'Klaus and Stefan' problem," Elena sneered, but with a bit too much assertiveness in her voice. Damon was definitely rubbing off on her.

Klaus' disposition immediately changed. He once again began to advance on Elena, although this time with venom in his eyes. And once again Damon stepped between them.

Klaus seemed rather amused by the brave vampire. He let a low-pitched chuckle escape his throat, then icily stared into Elena's eyes, "Well, consider this me broadening the scope...sweetheart."

The maniacal hybrid-king measured back, and looked the couple up and down. He lingered a little to long on Elena, and quickly noticed the way Damon's jaw clenched. A knowing smile crept across his face. Klaus gave another throaty chortle, "I'll be in touch."

He walked away leaving them both in stunned silence.

Even though Elena seemed to be standing perfectly still, Damon could sense she was timidly quivering. He turned around just in time to catch her elbows, as her knees gave out. He helped steady her as he softly soothed her, "Hey, hey...Elena, let's get you out of here."

She looked up into Damon's stormy blue eyes, full of distress, and all she could do was nod.


	4. Chapter 4: Driving Miss Daisy

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

**A/N; I always get nervous when I open a story and there is no author's note... I try to keep it as canon as possible, fan fic too out of character gives me hives... Happy Reading!**

**Thank you CaptainPeroxide for my second review (Go Team Spike! LOL) Every writer loves reviews :) And thank you for everyone for following!**

**Ok, I love this chapter...I hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it! Sorry if the action is starting out slowly for our favorite couple, but come on...I mean, it's Elena. **

**Get ready for a funny scene inspired by one of my favorite Damon fanvids (it's funny in my head, let's see if you think it's funny too...I just hope it isn't too far out of character). Speaking of, is anyone else obsessed with TVD Crack vids?**

**Lastly, I think I found the perfect quote for Delena vs. Stefan-Elena below, what do you think? Chapter 5 is almost ready...but I think I'm going to hold it hostage for a couple more reviews ;) So, enjoy this little bit of Delena sweetness...Happy V-Day!**

Twisted Switch

_There are days when you need someone who just wants to be your sunshine, and not the air you breathe. ~Robert Brault_

Chapter Four: Driving Miss Daisy

The sun was bright in the Grill's parking lot. Elena was leaning up against the driver side door of Damon's beautiful blue Camaro. The two were still reeling from what had just happened. Klaus, in the Grill, threatening them to find Stefan.

"Damon, what are we going to do?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Right now...nothing. Go do some family time. You deal with your rebellious little brother," Damon gave her a stern look, "and I'll work on a plan to find mine."

Elena had to admit that what Damon was suggesting was exactly what she wanted to do. "Ok," she sighed, "but your not going back inside, are you?"

"Worried I'll drink myself into oblivion?"

She furrowed her brows, "The thought did cross my mind. Why don't I drive you home?"

"Elena, I don't need an escort. I can drive myself."

"You're drunk."

"I'm a vampire," Damon said indignantly

"You're a drunk vampire."

He looked over her relentless expression, and the unwavering resolve in her eyes. He took a minute to drink in her emotions, and how beautiful she looked when she was standing up to him.

At that, he broke, "Fine," Damon said, rolling his eyes. He threw his keys up in the air and Elena caught them with both hands. She stood there shocked that he had given up so easy.

Elena opened the car door and slid in. She put the key in the ignition with a little bit of smugness. Damon really loved his car, and to her knowledge, she was the only one he let drive it, as rare as that was.

She waited for him to open the passenger door, but instead he got into the backseat. She turned around and gave him a puzzling look. Damon ignored her and simply stretched both arms across the back seats. He looked extra cocky, but in a lighthearted way. "Home, Jeeves!"

Elena couldn't help but let out a tiny laugh as she rolled her eyes.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

When Elena had first suggested driving Damon home, she thought the ride would be filled with awkwardness pushing them to talk about their kiss. Instead, it was filled with Damon's incessant singing.

_Everybody's gonna love today, gonna love today, gonna love today  
>Said everybody's gonna love today...love, love me<br>Anyway you want to...anyway you've got to  
>Love, love me...love, love me...shock, shock me<em>

_Said everybody's gonna love today, love today, love today  
>Everybody's gonna love today<br>Anyway you want to...anyway you've got to  
>Love, love me...love, love me<em>

_Shock, shock me...shock, shock me_

_Anyway you want to...anyway you've got to_

_Love, love me!_

Damon wasn't so much as singing, as he was rasping and roughly singsonging the lyrics completely out of order. This went on the entire ride, from the the time they left the Grill, until they arrived at the Salvatore Boarding House. The _entire_ ride.

Elena tried her best to act irritated, but she couldn't keep smiles from escaping her lips. The harder she tried not to smile, the more she would. Damon even noticed she let out a few muffled laughs.

The way Damon could draw her out of her doom and gloom seriousness never ceased to amaze her. No less than an hour ago they had been face to face with Klaus, and Elena knew that in a short while she would be having a talk with Jeremy about responsibility and perseverance. But here, in this car with Damon, she could just be herself for a little while. Not the doppelganger. Not the authoritative big sister. Just Elena.

"We're here," she stated obviously, as they pulled up the expansive driveway. Elena stopped the car, and waited for him to exit his Camaro. When he didn't, she got out and opened the door to the backseat with a huff, "Damon?"

He let his head fall back against the seat, then turned to look at her. Elena let herself get drawn into those gorgeous ocean eyes. If she hadn't been sure she was wearing vervain, she would have sworn Damon was compelling her.

Then, before she knew what was happening, he pulled her into the backseat with vampire speed and slammed the door behind her.

"Damon!"

"Sorry. It was getting a little lonely back here." He gave her a small little pout that slowly turned into a devilish little smile. After studying the guarded look on her face, and noticing the whole body blush she wasn't able to stop, Damon let his face relax, "Or we could just talk."

"Damon, now isn't the best time."

"Elena, you can't keep ignoring us."

His words carried more weight than Elena realized. She paused for a moment, then came up with her excuse, "Not while you're drunk."

Damon gave a little chuckle, "Elena, I'm actually not that drunk."

She looked at him with serious eyes, then dismissed the thoughts that starting creeping into her mind. "Oh? And you serenading me like an idiot?"

"Yeah, well...it was worth it to see you smile."

A genuinely warm smile crossed her face. "Ok. So, what do you want to talk about,?" she said stupidly. He gave her a look to match the idiotic question she had just asked. _What did he want to talk about? _Was she really going to play this game?

Damon sucked in a long breath, "I want to talk about Twilight." She shot him a look full of daggers at his caustic remark. "Do you really think Jacob has a shot in hell?" he scorned, "I mean, come on, the guys a _werewolf_." After a roll of Elena's eyes, Damon toned down his delivery, "What do you think I want to talk about?"

"Damon there's not much to say. We kissed, and-"

"Oh, no, no, no! Let's get one thing straight..._you_ kissed _me_, Elena." Of all the ways Damon pictured their first kiss happening, and he pictured some improbable scenarios, he never let himself believe she would be the one to initiate it. He was not about to let her forget that. "I just want to hear you say it," he said with a smirk.

Elena rolled her eyes so violently, they almost disappeared into the back of her head, "Damon! You're the one who wanted to talk. So do you think you could be serious...at least for 5 minutes?"

"I'll give you 6." Elena's eyes widened, and Damon knew he was pushing it. "Ok, ok. I'm sorry," he said as let his face relax back to 'Elena-you-need-to-admit-what-your-feeling' Damon. "The truth is you caught me off guard that night, and that is not an easy thing to do. Elena, you know how I feel about you. But I also know how my brother feels about you. I guess I just never imagined you would be the one to cross the line."

If he had expected her to say something sweet, and calming, then he was apparently in the wrong backseat.

Cross the line? Is that what she had done? Crossed a line? Elena's face twisted with annoyance. She brought her eyebrows together, giving her forehead a line that would rival Stefan's best. Then Elena started to rant like a crazy person. Only half of her thoughts were pouring out her mouth, so she was well aware what little sense she was making.

What the hell did he know about _the line_? "The line! What line, _Damon_?" Time and time again he had gone so far over the line that, "You can't even see the line!" After all his flirting, all his comments, and his pinning for her...now there was a line! "After everything I," she tried to redirect, "You!"

It was no use. Elena had lost the ability to form coherent sentences. Damon had no idea what can of worms he just opened, but he was pretty sure it was labeled 'Pandora's Box'.

Elena started to feel things she didn't even know she was upset about. Things she hadn't dealt with yet. Mostly it was all the hurt and anger over Stefan leaving her. Before she could stop herself, she was directing everything towards Damon.

He thought for a minute that he should shout back. Damon did not like to be yelled at. But then again, she wasn't really yelling, more like stammering in panted breaths. And heaven help him, but Damon couldn't help but get turned on by Elena's heated temper.

Elena started to realize that she was taking all her frustrations out on him. Was this something she did a lot? As she calmed down, she started to bottle some of her emotions back up. Elena knew she would have to face up to her feelings eventually, but not today. Not now.

There's trouble with bottling up our feelings, pushing everything we feel away. If we're not careful, those emotions will creep up on us with an unforgiving fury. One day our repression will rear it's ugly head, and in Elena's case, attempt to destroy everything in it's path. You can only run on pure righteousness and expectations for so long.

She let out a long sigh, and said more calmly, "Are you sorry that we...that I kissed you?"

Damon didn't say anything, he just answered her with his eyes. He started to move a little closer to her, inching himself until he heard a hitch in her breath. She froze as he brought one hand up to caress her face. He slowly brushed his fingertips across her cheek bone, then let them fall to her jawline.

He smiled as he heard Elena's heart start to beat faster and faster. She realized that she was letting her eyes close drowsily.

Damon knew if he kissed her right then and there, if he pulled Elena into a passionate embrace, she wouldn't resist. For some reason, for some incomprehensible reason, he just held his hand to her face.

Elena realized she had her eyes closed, and flung them open. She tried to regain some of her composure. Damon was now looking at her with his head tilted, peering deep into her eyes in a way that shredded her inhibitions. Elena ached for him to pull his soft lips to hers, but he didn't move in any further. She couldn't figure out why, so she just said it. The first thing that made any kind of sense.

"Damon, I shouldn't kiss you again. We both know it's not right," she sighed. But her tone was pleading, begging to be argued with. She had desperately tried to make it a statement. A declaration that would convince her body to get in line with her head. But try as she might, the words that left her lips sounded more like a question than anything else.

Damon dropped his hand from her face. A panic started to rise in her chest, but it immediately stopped when he inched a little closer and cupped her face with both hands. "It's right," he smiled softly, "It's just not right now."

She smiled back at him. Elena was relieved that he didn't want to push the subject any further for the time being. It was almost like Damon could tell her emotions were shakily resting right under the surface, and that all she needed was something to rock her core to send her into that insanity spiral.

They sat there for a moment longer, until Damon let his hands fall away from her face. In doing so, he ran his hands through the hair framing her delicate features. Elena let out one more long, exhausted breath before Damon exited the car.

He leaned back into the car, where Elena was trying to normal her breath. She could have swore she heard him chuckle. Within another minute she was finally able to move from the backseat. She got out and opened the car door.

"Take my baby home. I'll come by later."

"Ok," she said looking at the keys in her hand, before looking up at Damon.

As she looked over the hood of the car, Elena's gaze was met by one of the sexist, most satisfied smirks she had seen in a long time, "I was talking to my Camaro."


	5. Chapter 5: A Time to Bond

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

**A/N; I always get nervous when I open a story and there is no author's note... I try to keep it as canon as possible, fan fic too out of character gives me hives... Happy Reading!**

**Ok, here's another re-writing history chapter...last one :) Starts out pretty verbatim, but things end up very different. This was actually a difficult chapter to write, so any reviews would be love!**

**Katherine and Elena's switch will be coming soon, but first the little vamp needs to get back into town, and Bonnie needs to find the spell...which she does in the next chapter, Best Laid Intentions...**

**(Oh, I've also decided on bourbon...Bad Moon Rising, 2x3...thoughts? But I couldn't decide on a quote...so you get two. What do you think of the quotes? Have any other good ones?) Cheers!**

Twisted Switch

_Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future. ~Gail Lumet Buckley_

_The thing about family disasters is that you never have to wait long before the next one puts the previous one into perspective. ~Robert Brault_

Chapter Five: A Time to Bond

Standing in the living room of the Salvatore boarding house, Damon poured himself a drink. He was racking his brain on how they were going to find Stefan. A few ideas were impeding his mind, but he really didn't want to follow through with any of them.

Running off to look for Stefan wasn't an option. Damon had promised Elena that he would never leave her again, and he meant it. He could contact Katherine. She had tipped him off about Stefan being in Chicago. Maybe the little stalker was still trailing him.

Damon quickly dismissed the thought that they were off somewhere together. Not because it couldn't be true, but because he just didn't want to think about it.

He was snapped back to reality by an unwanted intruder. "I think it´s about time we had a drink, don´t you?" The voice was coiled in courtesy. This could not be happening twice in one day.

Damon turned around to see Klaus leaning in his entryway. "I´d say we´re overdue," he said trying to keep his cool as best he could.

"Well, you've been so busy...with all your plotting and scheming."

"You know me. Never miss a chance to plan an epic failure," Damon lamented through gritted teeth.

"Oh, don´t be so hard on yourself. Who could have guessed your own brother would betray you?" Klaus spoke as he was consoling an dear friend.

Damon couldn't resist getting in one good jab, "Well, I did have a front row seat when your sister lied to you." He was nothing if he didn't have his biting rhetoric. If Klaus had come to kill him, he was prepared to go down in a blaze of sarcastic glory.

"Yeah, well she´s fickle that one." Damon had managed to get under his skin. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea. Then Klaus suspiciously asked, "And you say you have no idea of her whereabouts?"

"That´s the thing with younger siblings. You just never know what they're gonna do." Damon swallowed his drink...hard. He finished with an uncomfortable look on his face. "Drink?"

Klaus moved further into the room to take the drink from Damon. "Cheers mate!"

"Down the hatch..." Damon downed his drink, and made the same almost-painful face.

"You know, we've actually got a lot in common, you and I." Klaus said as he slinked around the room.

"Really? Well, yeah, maybe we can bond over our mutual loathing of my brother." Damon paused to see if he could turn this into a useful conversation. "Why are you so mad at him? He stole something?"

"My family. The Originals. I had them daggered, boxed-up, awaiting the day when I saw fit to wake them. And he went in and pinched the bloody lot." Klaus expressed his last statement as if he still couldn't get over the fact that Stefan had out one-upped him.

Letting out an exasperated chuckle, Damon sighed, "Of course he did...ah...such a buzz kill my baby bro. Well, I´d love to find him. The trouble is...I sure is hell don't work for you." Damon tried to get some upper ground.

Klaus started to advance on Damon. He was tired of the niceties and was ready to make his point. "You know...your drink stinks of vervain, so I can't compel you. There be no point in killing you. You're actually the one person who can most likely get me what I need. Though, it would seem an ultimatum is in order." Klaus was starting to sound a little more clam, and a little more sadistic. "Perhaps I wasn't clear when I told you to find Stefan. So, since it seems you people respond best to threats of violence, I'll give you a choice. Find Stefan and bring me my coffins, or you'll never see your precious Elena again."

It was Klaus' turn to get under Damon's skin. He could feel the rage start to boil under his skin. One hand was balling up into a fist and the other was threatening to shatter the empty glass of vervain and bourbon, Damon tried to keep his calm. "You won't kill her. You need her."

Klaus let out an evil laugh, then started to seductively muse, "You know, there are worse things than death. I only need her blood remember. As long as she has a pulse, she'll do. It doesn't matter how bruised or broken she is..._inside_ or out."

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Inside the now Gilbert-Saltzman house, Alaric was frantically chopping ingredients. "So, you ready?"

An exasperated Elena carried a handful of plates. "Vampires, hybrids, originals...no problem. A rebellious brother? That makes me worry," she groaned as she set the table.

"Proof you're still human," he said gently.

Elena gave him a thanking smile. She couldn't believe how much she had come to rely on Alaric. How important he had become to her. The place he held in Elena's life, and now her heart, didn't really have a name. It was almost the same way with Damon. She never really knew how to define their relationship.

They both looked on nervously as the front door opened and Jeremy came into the kitchen. "Just in time! We' re cooking," Alaric brightly announced.

"Sorry, I'm not staying long."

Trying not to sound too authoritative, he lightly pleaded, "Oh, wait awhile. Stay in. We'll have a meal together like typical...atypical family." The siblings couldn't help but smile at Alaric's classification of their current situation.

Elena tried her best to sound cool and aloof, "Come on, Jer. We can all sit around the table, eat, and talk."

"Talk. Why? What about?" Jeremy knew something was up, and he made no effort to hide his apparent attitude.

Elena quickly lost her composure. She slipped right into over protective sister mode. "Maybe because you got fired and you didn't tell anyone!"

"Look, can we do this later?" Jeremy complained. "I have plans with Tyler."

"When did you start hanging out with Tyler Lockwood?" Alaric perked up.

Jeremy started to feel ganged up on, and lashed out, "I don't know. Does it matter?"

"Yeah, Jeremy. It matters." Elena was angry, and irritated, at the new situation that she was now having to lecture him about. "He was sired by Klaus. He's dangerous."

"Whatever. This is lame," Jeremy scoffed. He turned to leave, but Elena stepped in front of him with a hand to his chest.

"Oh, no don't! You're not going anywhere, especially not with Tyler!"

In disbelief, Jeremy looked to Alaric, waiting for some form of back up that didn't come. "I'm with her on this, Jer. Sorry."

Jeremy turned back to Elena. "You, of all people, are gonna lecture me on who I can and can't hang out with? First you can't let Stefan go, now you're hooking up with his brother?"

They both knew it was a statement that hit Elena right in the heart. She was surprised that Jeremy had actually said it. Elena couldn't help herself, and she countered back. "Says the guy who cheated on my best friend, with the ghost of his vampire girlfriend."

Before they said any more hurtful things to each other, Alaric stepped in. "Alright, come on guys. Stop, before you say something you won't be able to take back," he said coolly, sounding more like a big brother than a parent. "This isn't like the two of you," he added.

"Jeremy, Ric's right," emotional exhaustion cracking in her voice, "Look, Jer, I'm sorry. I'm just stressed, and I'm also really worried about you."

He looked like he was hesitating to apologize, but finally conceded, "You know I didn't mean what I said. And I don't agree with you about Tyler, but I'll stay away from him." He looked at her with a little sheepish grin, "Sorry, 'Lena." How could she not forgive her little brother?

"Well, I guess we got the talking out of the way," Alaric teased. The mood was getting lighter, and in a few moments the tension was gone. "Alright, now we can get back to dinner."

Elena continued setting the table, Alaric began to chop again, and Jeremy asked, "What can I do to help?"

"Check to make sure I'm not burning anything," grinned Alaric, then he continued, "You know, I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in this kitchen who _hasn't_ fallen in love with a vampire." Jeremy and Elena couldn't help but smile.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Elena, Alaric, and Jeremy were just about finished their family dinner when there was a hard knock on the door, followed by Damon letting himself in.

"How many times do I need to tell you people to lock your doors?" He said bustling into the kitchen. He walked over and perched himself on the counter top. "So, how goes the family bonding time?"

Elena could tell he was a bit rattled because he was only operating with half his usual snide. "Damon, what's going on?"

Alaric and Jeremy looked surprised that she knew something was wrong. They looked back and forth between the eye-locked couple. Damon finally cut the silence with a sullen tone. "Well, let's just say that everyone's favorite hybrid dropped by the boarding house for a little chat."

"Tyler came to see you?" Elena asked with a confused look on her face.

"Huh?," Damon said with annoyance, "No, Klaus. I am really off my game today."

"What was he doing at your house?" Alaric was joining the conversation.

"He wants us to find Stefan, the dick who stole coffins full of his dead family members."

"Klaus has the originals daggered...in coffins?"

"Yeah. As if he wasn't creepy enough, now he's got this whole Norman Bates thing going on. So, all we have to do is find four coffins, and-"

"What else did he say?" Elena interjected. She got up and stood in front of Damon, who was still sitting on the counter. She positioned herself right between his dangling legs, and looked up into his face. Elena could tell there was something truly frightening him. Klaus had definitely said something to shake Damon to his core. "Tell me what happened."

"He was just trying to make his point."

"Damon. What did he say?"

His eyes flickered with emotions she couldn't interpret. He replayed the words in his head. _It doesn't matter how bruised or broken she is...inside or out. _Damon was deadpan when he spoke, "He threatened me, Elena."

"What did he threaten you with?" Alaric felt obligated to interrupt. The couple seemed to be lost in concern for each other.

"Me." Elena had inched closer to Damon, and this was obviously making Alaric a little uncomfortable. But she didn't care. Alaric's brow furrowed, but Damon just held her stare. "He used me to threaten you. And you're not going to tell me what he said, are you?"

Even Jeremy sensed that if Damon wouldn't tell Elena, then it had to be awful. After a minute, he also needed to interrupt the awkwardness the two of them were creating by their close proximity. "Hey do you two mind if I talk to Damon for a minute, while you guys clean up?"

"You gonna hit me?" Damon asked bluntly.

Jeremy just rolled his eyes, and walked into the living room. Damon hopped off the counter, and had to brush past Elena who wasn't moving. Her head followed Damon. When she looked back around, Alaric was looking at her with a curious expression. Elena could she the tinges of judgment in his eyes, and all she could do was look away.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

In the living room, Damon found himself face to face with an impatient adolescent with a determined look across his face.

"You really aren't going to try to hit me for macking on your sister?"

Jeremy ignored him. "Is that really your big plan?"

"What?"

"To steal back four dead originals, so this evil hybrid doesn't hurt Elena and kill everyone else we know?"

"You got a better idea?" Since when did the kid and him become partners?

"Yeah. Let's get the hell outta here. Pack our bags, and go."

"Jeremy, calm down."

"No, I won't calm down." Jeremy was shouting in whispers. "If Klaus is here, then why aren't we gone?" Damon didn't know how to respond, so Jeremy just continued, "Look, I know you love my sister." It was Damon's turn to get uncomfortable. "So take her away. If you love her, take her someplace far away, so Klaus can't get to her."

He was a little taken back at everything that Elena's little brother was saying. Jeremy admitted he knew Damon loved his sister, and he wanted them to runaway together. For her own safety, of course.

Even though that sounded like heaven, he knew it wasn't right. Damon had to protest. "You know your sister would never agree to that. Never," he added for clarity.

"Then compel her," Jeremy implored.

Damon took a moment to evaluate in the teenager standing in front of him. He knew a spiral when he saw one, and he saw it in Jeremy. In spite of himself, Damon found himself worrying about the little punk.

Damon looked hard at Jeremy, telling him the truth. "No. I can't do that to her."

"When did _you_ become noble?"

"God, I don't know." Damon said this like there was something wrong with him. When did he become _that_ guy. But he couldn't stop himself, "And what about you? If Elena disappears, what's to stop Klaus from taking revenge by hurting the people she loves?"

"What, now you care about me? I'm sorry, but aren't you the same guy who _broke my neck."_

"Of all my drunken indiscretions, that's the one I'll never live down?" He asked himself under his breath. Damon then found himself trying to reason with him, "Jeremy, look-"

"No! You Look! Just take her away. There's no hope for the rest of us anyway."

Damon didn't notice but Alaric and Elena had entered the room.

"Jeremy, don't be an idiot! What do you think losing you would do to your sister? You know how much you mean to her. She can't lose you. She's lost enough." Damon took a step closer to make his point. "So that's another reason to wise up and get your fucking act together!"

"What's going on in here?" Elena wasn't mad. If anything her tone had wonder in it. She looked between the both of them.

They were staring intently at each other. Damon tried to calm his voice, "Just some male bonding."

She looked at Jeremy looking for a better answer. "Jer?"

"Elena...listen, you-"

"Jeremy, don't!" Damon warned.

Jeremy clenched his jaw, and looked Damon square in the eyes, "Fine. Just think about what I said." He gave Elena a concerned look, and headed for the stairs.

Alaric and Elena just peered at Damon with bewildered expressions, but he just stammered, "Ric..I could use a drink."

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Team Bad Ass clinked their tumblers together. The three of them were now standing around the kitchen. Damon downed all his alcohol and held out his glass for more. Elena rolled her eyes and took the glass away from him. He attempted his best pouty look on her, but she just wrinkled her eyes at him.

They had been trying to get information out of Damon, but all he would do is give vague answers. Elena wanted to know exactly what Klaus had said to get him so rattled. She also wanted to know what Jeremy asked him to think about.

Not getting any answers to her questions, Elena gathered her resolve, "Klaus said he wants his family back." She gave Damon a knowing look. He caught on right away.

"No...No! I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no."

"But if we give him Rebekah..."

"Yeah, Klaus undaggers her, and the first thing she does is try to kill you. Frying pan. Fire. Not an option!" Damon's resoluteness had become stronger than hers.

Alaric was looking at them with wide eyes. They had let their secret slip. "Hold on. Are you trying to tell me that the two of you have Rebekah?"

"Barbie Original may or may not be daggered in my basement." And at Alaric's disapproving look, Damon added, "She did it."

Elena turned her head towards Damon and gave him one of her stares.

"Are there any other secrets you two are keeping," Alaric asked, trying to sound nonchalant. They both looked at him, then accidentally glanced at each other. Changing his mind about wanting to know, Alaric decided to redirect. "Maybe Elena's right," he said, trying to convince himself more than them. There didn't seem to be a lot of good ideas going around.

"Look, we don't have the coffins, we don't know where Stefan is...Rebekah is our only leverage, more so because Klaus doesn't know we have her," Damon tried to reason.

"The Coffins...How many did you say they were? Four?" Something was starting to dawn on Elena. Damon nodded. "Bonnie's dream," she whispered to herself...but both Damon and Alaric heard her.

"Bonnie's been dreaming about the coffins?" Damon half asked, and half exclaimed. "Perfect! We can get Witchy to help. Why didn't we think of that before?"

To be honest, they all looked, and felt, completely dumbfounded. It was so obvious now. Alaric said what they were all thinking, "A locator spell."

"Either way, we'll end up with Stefan or the coffins," Damon added.

Elena agreed, "Alright. I'll call Bonnie in the morning."

Damon and Alaric shared another drink. Elena had granted Damon his tumbler back. There wasn't too much more to say, and they were all emotionally exhausted.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Alaric finally decided it was safe to leave them alone. "Well, I'm going to head upstairs. Damon, I guess I'll see you in the morning...on the couch." Damon raised an eyebrow and gave him a half smile. "Goodnight, Elena."

"Goodnight, Ric."

"Night, Brother." Damon flopped down on the couch. He stretched out his legs, and kicked off his boots. Then he positioned the pillow under his head. He looked up to where she was standing behind the couch. "You should probably get some rest too."

Elena nodded, but came around and sat on the couch to look down into his perfect face.

"E-len-a," he crooned. "Your room is upstairs," he whispered like he was telling her something she didn't know. He gave her a little smirk., but she just kept gazing at him. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Damon, about what you said to Jeremy..."

"Elena, I'm sorry, but he needed to be yelled at."

"I know," she said quickly, "I meant what you said about me. Thank you." She gave him a soft little smile.

"Thank you? Why are you thanking me?"

"I just...I appreciate that you understand how I feel about Jeremy. It touched me. So...thank you."

He gave Elena a warm, but weak smile. "Your welcome," he replied sincerely.

Then, his eyes widened a little as she proceeded to climb on top of him. Damon's body stiffened, and his lips slightly parted. But then, she just laid her head on his chest, letting her legs fall in between his.

It had been a long day, that became an even longer night. With the echo of Klaus in her mind, all Elena wanted to do was comfort herself with his welcoming body.

"Elena?"

"Yeah?" She spoke softly with a heavy daze.

"Nothing." He brought his hand up and entangled it in her hair, before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Sweet dreams."

Her body, covering his, felt so warm. Damon could feel her relaxing, her body going limp, and then she fell asleep. With his free hand, he pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over them both.


	6. Chapter 6: Best Laid Intentions

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

**A/N; Alright...so, this chapter has definitely become a run-away-chapter...hope no one minds that it's a little long, figured this would compensate for making everyone wait so long for the switch...so in the words of Klaus "Have at it..."**

**Speaking of...the long awaited switch will be happening in the next chapter. This chapter was going to be a bunch of girl-bonding, but I just can't seem to keep my muse off the angst button...so, get ready for a semi-intense scene near the end. Good news? Bonnie ends up throwing her hat in the ring for team Damon.**

**P.S. (I was having a total block with this chapter at first...so I Googled "best intentions", and found a cute little country song...I thought the lyrics were so perfect for Delena, that I had to included them...Song; Travis Tritt, Best of Intentions)**

**Finally, I want to thank everyone for reviewing and for adding this story to your alert list!**

**Happy Reading :)**

"_Now some people think I'm a loser  
>'Cause I seldom get things right<br>But you make me feel like a winner  
>When you wrap me in your arms so tight<br>Please tell me you will remember  
>No matter how much I do wrong<br>That I had the best of intentions all along"_

"But my best-laid plans  
>Slipped right through my hands<br>To show my love for you  
>And if you could read my heart<br>Then you'd know without exception  
>It was all with the best of intentions"<p>

"Though you deserve so much better  
>You won't find devotion more true<br>'Cause I've had the best of intentions  
>Girl, I've had the best of intentions<br>Yes, I've had the best of intentions loving you"

Twisted Switch

_We have to live today, by what truth we can get today...and be ready tomorrow, to call it falsehood. ~William James_

Chapter 6: Best Laid Intentions

Alaric came down the stairs fully intending to start his day with coffee, and not a shot of liquid courage. However, the sight on the couch was making him reconsider. He had certainly known that something was going on between Elena and Damon. To be honest, everyone knew. It was the elephant in the room that nobody wanted to acknowledge. Alaric started to wonder if the two of them had.

He did have to admit, they looked peaceful sleeping on the couch together. Elena had her head on Damon's chest, as he held her in his arms, a blanket covering them both. Alaric had unwittingly grown to appreciate the brash and impulsive, yet likeable vampire. But could this really be a good thing for Elena?

"Morning," he said in a loud voice. Damon's body reacted a little too fast at being woken from such a perfect sleep, causing Elena to fall off the couch and onto the floor, along with their blanket. "Well, at least you both still have your clothes on," Alaric sighed, even though he sounded a little amused.

"Morning Ric," Damon said sitting up, and pulling Elena off the floor.

Alaric looked at the two of them, rolled his eyes, and informed them he'd be in the kitchen, making breakfast.

Elena was now sitting on the couch. Damon had one leg behind her and one foot on the floor. "Need me to rub anything all better?" He asked with a cocky smirk.

"Still in earshot," Alaric called as he walked away.

"Oops," Damon said playfully, as he brought Elena closer to him by pulling her between his legs and into his chest. She responded by throwing her legs over his, and nuzzling her head into his neck. Elena let out a long, restful sigh. Damon smiled and leaned down to her face. She was surprised when he only placed a small, gentle kiss on her cheek. "Coffee?" he smiled.

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Sleeping on the couch should have been awkward, but they both had seemed to just melt together and lay perfectly still. Maybe it was the exhaustion, but it was the best sleep Elena had in a long time. She now sat serenely at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of her. Damon was back on the kitchen counter. This had apparently become is new favorite spot. Alaric was trying to busy himself with cooking again.

The smell of bacon and eggs seemed to rouse Jeremy, who came stumbling into the kitchen not looking quite as restful as the rest of them. He took a seat next to Elena, then looked at her, "What, did you sleep in your clothes last night?"

She opened her mouth, closed it, then tried again. Just then Damon cut her off, "Sleep well, Jeremy? I know I slept great." He smirked. "Maybe you should try the couch."

Jeremy could tell by the disapproving look on Alaric's face that something was going on, but didn't bother to press it. It always seemed like there was something going on. He decided he didn't have enough energy to be in the loop about every little drama.

"Damon, don't forget, we have that fundraiser thing later," Alaric said before turning back to the stove.

"Yeah...I'm not going."

"You have to. Not only are they expecting a large donation from you, but...there's a council thing."

"What fundraiser?" Elena was surprised Damon hadn't mentioned it.

Alaric and Damon looked between the two siblings with empathetic stares. Alaric spoke softly, "Wickery Bridge. They want to renovate it."

Elena and Jeremy exchanged a quick glance, then Jeremy looked at Damon, "It's cool that you're donating. The bridge needs it."

Damon was giving him a cautious look, Jeremy's subtext was not lost on him. "Yeah...well, like I said...I'm not going."

Elena chimed in sharply, "Why not?"

"I don't know Elena, maybe because Klaus is out to get you. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Damon, what are you going to do? It's not like you can stop him."

"Doesn't mean I won't die trying. If nothing else I can provide a nice little distraction...give you enough time to run away."

"I'm not running away."

Damon raised his eyebrows. "Really? Not running away..." he enunciated each word as he looked at Jeremy, who just rolled his eyes.

Elena looked between the two of them, settling her eyes on her brother. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Jeremy said a bit under his breath.

Elena desperately wanted to know what they were keeping from her, but was nearly convinced they wouldn't tell her. She looked back to Damon, "You should go to the fundraiser. I'll be with Bonnie. I'll be safe with her."

At the mention of Bonnie's name, Jeremy took the opportunity to get up and make his way to the refrigerator. Alaric turned around to announce breakfast was ready.

Damon hopped off the counter and grabbed two plates. He took Jeremy's seat next to Elena, and put the plateful of bacon and eggs in front of her. She thanked him, then added, "Try not to worry."

"Not possible." They smiled at each other.

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Bonnie and Elena had decided to make they're research into little more of a girly day. They ordered a pizza, and were eating ice cream out of the containers. Elena was in a much better mood than she was over yesterday's cup of coffee. She was still worried, but she didn't seem so on edge.

Bonnie had been more than happy to help when Elena called her. Still, Elena felt bad having to involve her friend. She wanted to protect the people she loved, but they needed Bonnie. "I'm so sorry to mix you up in all this again."

"Elena, you have to stop thinking that you're dragging me into things. I'm a witch, and like it or not, my family legacy seems to be getting involved with vampire business."

Elena knew she meant Emily. How odd it was that there decedents had a shared past. They never really discussed it much, but the fact that Emily had been such a pivotal role in Katherine's past, was only slightly overshadowed at the pivotal role she had played in the Salvatore brother's lives.

Elena gave her friend a warm smile, then regrouped her thoughts. "Alright, tell me your dream again."

Bonnie had already described her dream to Elena at least three times that afternoon. She was secretly getting tired of recounting the events. Dreaming of Klaus was bad enough, having to tell Elena about it over and over was starting to get under her skin.

She decided to humor her friend anyway, "Like I said...I'm walking, and I find four coffins. I approach one, open it, and see Klaus inside. He's either sleeping, or dead. That's when I wake up."

"Where are you walking?"

Bonnie started to open her mouth, then stopped to let out a sigh. In all her recounting she never even payed attention to that part. A dumbstruck expression crossed her face. Maybe Elena's incessant asking was a good thing.

Elena was still looking at Bonnie, who was desperately trying to remember the other details of her dream. "Let's see...it's daytime...and, I'm walking..." she trailed off, then excitedly exclaimed, "Through the woods!"

"The woods? The coffins are in the woods?"

Bonnie now had a defeated look on her face. "No. I'm walking through the woods to get to them." She let out a frustrated sigh, "Ugh! Why can't I remember?"

Elena shrugged. She looked at Bonnie, and with gentle comfort in her voice said, "Why don't we start looking through the Grimoires." Then she gave her best friend a big smile. "After we finish our ice cream, of course."

Bonnie smiled back at her. The girls let themselves have a few more moments of getting to pretend that they were just two normal teenagers with regular teenage problems.

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Damon took out his phone, looking at it for the second time in five minutes. Ever since Alaric and him had entered the Lockwood mansion, Damon had not been able to stop checking it.

"Can't a council meeting ever just be a council meeting?" Alaric whispered to him, bringing Damon's mind back to the task at hand...getting through enough of the fundraiser so they could sit through the council meeting.

"Now where would the fun be in that," Damon said sarcastically. "Ok...I'm going to get a drink, then I'll write my check. Hopefully this stupid meeting will start soon. Then we're out of here."

He couldn't help but steal another quick glance at his phone. When he looked up, he saw Alaric's eyes boring into him. They held judgment, but he also had a funny little smirk on his face.

"Shut up!" scoffed Damon with a roll of his brilliant blue eyes.

Alaric held up his hands in defense, "I wasn't going to say anything," he said with a knowing laugh.

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"I don't know if we'll be able to find the coffins. Locator spells aren't that easy. I need some kind of essence of the thing I'm looking for. Neither of us have any connection to the coffins."

The girls were now sprawled out on Bonnie's living room floor. Grimoires spread out, and flipped to various pages.

"What kind of essence would we need to find the coffins?"

"Something linked to them." Bonnie frowned, "Klaus."

Elena sighed heavily, "And since that isn't an option..."

"We look for Stefan," Bonnie finished Elena's sentence.

"Alright, how do we find him? What links us to him?" Elena asked, even though she already knew the answer. They exchanged looks. Elena resigned, "What would you need from me?"

"Well, the most effective locator spells use blood, but...Elena, there are other ways...especially if you really don't want him to be found."

"Why wouldn't I want him found? Just because he choose to leave town..._repeatedly_."

"Elena, you know there was more to it than that."

She let out a heavy sigh, "I know he left the first time to save Damon's life. I understand that, I do. I just can't understand why he stopped us from killing Klaus. Once he was dead, he'd still be free. Why did he choose to double-cross us? Why did he leave again? We wanted the same thing..." she started to trail off. Bonnie was about to say something comforting, when something dawned on Elena, and she blurted out, "Damon."

"Damon?" Bonnie wasn't so sure what Damon had to do with it, but bonnie was very curious about the sudden name drop.

"No one wants to bring back Stefan more than Damon."

"Damon's blood would be more powerful. They are brothers." Bonnie looked over the Grimoires, "I'll have to find the right spell for it to work. Why don't you call Damon."

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The phone had barely rung, when Damon quickly answered it.

_Elena? What's going on? Are you ok?_

"Damon, clam down. I'm fine," she tried to say as soothing as possible. She went on to explain that they should be able to find Stefan with a locator spell, but they needed Damon's blood for a link.

_Why don't you just use your blood...you and Stefan... _

Elena heard Damon trail off. She could tell he didn't want to continue, so she chimed in, "Bonnie thinks that because you're brothers it will be more effective." She wondered if he could tell she was lying.

_Ok. I'll meet you at the boarding house...unless Bonnie's willing to invite me in for tea and cookies._

Elena was sure he was smirking on the other end. She thought it over for a quick second. "Well, there is more room at your place." She heard him give a little laugh.

_Look, I have to go...this council meeting is finally starting._

"Alright, I'll see you at home," and hung up the phone. Then she stopped for a minute. Did she just call the boarding house 'home'?

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Elena came back into Bonnie's living room to find her intensely staring into a Grimoire. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Bonnie slid the book beside her. "What did Damon say?"

"Bonnie..."

She was about to protest, but gave in. "It looks like some sort of protection spell."

"A protection spell?" Elena's eyes lit up. "How's it work?"

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Elena, I don't like that look."

"What look?"

"That martyr look of yours. You get it any time you think about putting yourself in danger to save everyone else." Bonnie looked a bit amused that she had her best friend figured out.

"You sound like Damon." Elena rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, about that...so, what's going on with you two?"

She responded quickly. Elena knew Bonnie was trying to change the subject, but anything involving Damon had become a natural reaction. "What makes you think anything is going on?"

"Elena, I'm your best friend. I know things have been a little weird since Jeremy and I broke up, but I can still tell when something is going on with you."

Elena hesitated, but was glad Bonnie brought it up. She hadn't been able to talk to anyone about what she had been feeling for Damon. She felt herself let go a little, and open up. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what's going on with us."

"But _something_ is going on."

"Yeah, defiantly something." She braced herself, "Bonnie, I kissed him."

"You kissed Damon! When?"

"It was the night of homecoming."

"Elena!" Bonnie gave her a slap on the arm. "That was almost two weeks ago, and you're just telling me now?"

"I know. I just...I didn't know how I felt about it."

Bonnie looked a little puzzled, "And you do now?"

"Well," she paused to think about it for a minute. "Yes."

Elena thought about the night they kissed, and all the sexual tension they shared since. Somehow Klaus showing up, released something in them both. She thought about their ride home together, him pulling her into the backseat. Elena remembered loving how close he got to her, and how her body reacted.

She had been so mad when he told her she crossed a line. Elena didn't know why, but she just lost it when he said that. She didn't mean to lash out at Damon, but she couldn't help herself. She could tell Damon was holding back. But why?

"Elena," Bonnie snapped her out of her train of thought. "You're thinking about him? Aren't you?"

Damn her withcy instincts, "You can tell?"

"It's all over your face." Then a sincere look came over her face, "You really like him, don't you?"

Elena thought about it. Like? Like was such an odd word to use. Attracted? Yes. Feeling compelled to protect him? Also, yes. She also believed in him, and trusted him with her life. But did that mean she liked him? Or was it something more?

She shook it off. "So, tell me more about that protection spell."

"It's risky, Elena. I'm not sure what the _protection_ would entail."

"But it does say that I'll be able to keep myself safe?"

Bonnie put the book back on her lap, gave her a look, and let out a long sigh. "The spells is supposed to give you "the physical phenomenon to forbid supernatural danger."

"Sounds perfect."

"I don't know. It sounds pretty vague."

"Bonnie, Damon is basically ready to die to protect me because I can't defend myself. Klaus has threatened him with something that is bad enough that he won't even tell me. And what's to stop him from hurting other people I love to get to me." Elena ended her speech with pleading eyes. Then, for good measure added, "If I could protect myself, then maybe I can help keep everyone else safe...Damon and Alaric, You and Jeremy."

Bonnie knew she was serious if she was playing the Jeremy card. "Even if I agreed...I'm not sure I have enough power. According to the spell, we should have something that wields it's own magic."

Elena's eyes grew wide, "Something like the talisman of the original witch?"

"You have the necklace? I thought Katherine had it."

"Damon got it back for me." Elena couldn't help but let her thoughts stray to the night he had given it back to her. He promised to never leave her, and then no-humanity-Stefan had walked in. She felt a frown creep across her face.

"Where is it now?"

Elena looked up at bonnie and gave her a sheepish look. "I might have some more explaining to do."

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

On the way to the boarding house, the girls had a nice long talk about why it was crazy to perform the protection spell. Bonnie was sure to remind Elena how Damon would most likely react to her decision. Although her mind had already been made up when Elena realized she might be able to keep the people she loved safe.

While Damon was completely impulsive, Elena was completely compulsive. She didn't do things just because she wanted to do them. Elena honestly thought she had to do things because she thought they were the right things to do. Damon acted in the heat of the moment. He didn't have much forethought, but he did act from his heart.

Both were driven to do what they thought was right. Once they decided on the "right" thing, Damon and Elena are unmoving in their decisions, and acted without thinking any further.

By the time they pulled into the driveway, Elena felt confident that she had gotten Bonnie on her side.

Damon wasn't there yet, so Elena just let herself in. They walked into the living room, and sat down all the Grimoires. Bonnie staring flipping thru pages, then the girls started collecting ingredients for the protection spell.

They put off the most important for last. Both Bonnie and Elena felt a little weary sneaking down to the basement to fetch the necklace.

"I still can't believe you guys have had Rebekah this whole time," Bonnie whispered like someone would hear them.

Elena frowned, "Yeah, well, don't tell anyone else. It's bad enough Ric knows."

"How did he take it?"

"He just thinks Damon and I are keeping other secrets." Bonnie raised her eyebrows and gave Elena a look. "I fessed up to everything today." Elena was now kneeling next to the blonde original's stiff, gray body. She undid the clasp of the necklace, then dangled it in front of Bonnie. "You ready?"

"Are you?"

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"Honey, I'm home." Damon said with a laugh as he walked through the door of the boarding house. He knew by the car in the driveway, that Elena and Bonnie were already there. When he didn't hear any annoyed or exasperated sighs at his presence, he put on a furrowed brow, and entered the room.

Damon walked in to find Grimoires spread out on the floor and witch craft looking items covering his coffee table. He walked over to the only opened book and started to read, but then he perked up his vampire hearing. Damon heard footsteps coming from the basement.

Elena and Bonnie had just closed the basement door behind them, when Damon used is vampire speed to land straight in front of them.

Both of them stood there shocked. Elena sternly gasped, "Damon!"

He looked down at the object in her hand, then lightly took her wrist and raised it in front of his face. The necklace was hanging in front of them. He peered around it and narrowed his eyes, "What's going on?"

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"Are you completely insane?" Damon hadn't taken very well to the idea of doing a spell that they didn't fully understand.

"Damon, if this works..." Elena started to speak, but he cut her off.

"_If_? I don't like the way you say _if_."

Bonnie, who had been sitting on the couch watching Damon and Elena bicker back and forth, decided it was time to intervene. "Maybe there's something else I can do. I might be able to create a loophole when we..." Bonnie stopped when she saw the look on Damon's face. "If...we do the spell."

"We're doing it," Elena said with resolution.

Damon just shot her a look. "What kind of loophole?"

"Something that could break the spell, just in case something goes wrong or it doesn't turn out the way we want."

"How does it work?" Damon asked suspiciously.

"Do you remember how the moonstone worked?"

"Vividly. As if I could forgot. Go on."

Bonnie gave Damon a daggered stare, but continued, "Well, it works similar to that. When I perform the spell, I'll use a stone to hold the spells energy. Then, to break the spell, we just have to magically destroy the stone."

"Magically destroy? Can't we just smash it to hell?"

"If I put magic into the stone, then it should make it indestructible. To destroy the stone, and break the spell, I just have to take it's magic away."

"That sounds easy enough," Elena said with confidence.

"Easy enough? Elena, are you on crack?"

"I just want to be able to protect myself. If I can protect myself, then maybe I can help protect everyone I love."

"Is that what this is about? You're looking for a way to turn yourself into some sort of hybrid slayer?" He paused for a minute and tried to regroup, hoping Elena and her one-track mind would see reason. "What about the locator spell? I thought we were trying to find Stefan, so we could find the coffins."

"Then what?" Elena had positioned herself in front of Damon. "We give Klaus the coffins, then what? I'll still be a walking blood donor. He'll never let me be. And as long as he has me, he has you."

"Elena..."

"No, Damon, I will not let you die for me! I won't let anyone die for me."

"Even if you could protect yourself, do you really think I'd stay out of it?" Both her and Damon were getting increasingly angry and upset. Emotions that were laying right under the surface were mixing with things they had been trying not to say. "I refuse to see you broken."

Bonnie was watching Damon's facial expression, and didn't like where this was headed. She attempted to calm him down, "Damon, maybe we should just take a pause."

"No, Bonnie she needs to hear this." He moved closer to Elena, and lightly grabbed her shoulders. "Klaus only needs you for your blood. As long as your heart can pump blood through your body, Klaus will be satisfied. It doesn't matter what else happens to you. Do you understand that? Klaus can still hurt you. There are lots of ways, and he is sadistically creative."

"Damon, if you're trying to scare me..." Elena spoke slowly and quietly.

"I'm just trying to make you see things for what they are, Elena."

"I'm stronger than I look. I can handle Klaus."

"I really don't care what you think you can and can't handle. I'm the one who won't be able to handle it if Klaus gets to you." He let his hands fall off her shoulders and to his sides. He took a step back, let out a long sigh, and said, "If you both think this spell will work, then I guess it's worth the risk...to keep you safe."

Bonnie had never really seen Damon like this before. He seemed destroyed. She saw how much Damon really did love her best friend. Bonnie could also tell how much he wanted to protect Elena.

Elena stepped towards him, closing the space he had created. She reached out for one of his hands. "Everything is going to be fine."

He furrowed his brow, "Famous last words."

Bonnie stood up. "Alright...I have a stone to go get." She saw Damon's still worried face, "Don't worry, I have a stone at home that will work perfect."

"What about the locator spell?"

"We'll work on that when I get back." She walked towards the door. "I won't be long."

Elena and Damon watched as Bonnie left, then looked back at each other.

Damon sighed, "I guess it would be useless to try and talk you out of it anymore?"

"Can't you just have a little faith?"

He just rolled his eyes, and walked over to the bottles of amber liquids.

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Damon had taken a seat on the couch with his drink. Elena had come to sit next to him. They had been sitting in silence for a while when out of nowhere Elena spoke.

"Damon?" Instead of answering, he just looked over to her. "You really do care about me, don't you?"

She was half expecting a snarky comment about what a stupid question that was, but Damon just put his drink down and let his features relax. Elena found herself being drawn into those ocean blue eyes. "You know I do."

She smiled at him, and leaned closer. Elena started to move her lips towards his, but he pulled back. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She lowered her head.

Damon cradled her chin and brought her head back up to look at his smiling face. "It's my turn this time." Elena held her breath as Damon closed the space between them and slowly found her lips. He brushed over them lightly with his own, then firmly pressed against her mouth.

His kiss was deep and passionate. Damon moved his hands up to grasp her face, and brought her even closer into him. Elena was a bit taken back. She brought her hands forward and found herself clutching onto the front of Damon's shirt. He pulled away in a gasp.

"Elena, I don't think I can hold back anymore...I've been trying."

"I know you have. I don't know why, but you don't have to."

"When we find Stefan..." Damon trailed off because he wasn't sure how to finish.

Elena brought a finger over his lips, "Don't. Not now. Not tonight. We have plenty of time to deal with that later." She smiled at him. "Right now, just kiss me." He gave her a coy little smile, and dived back into her soft, swollen lips.

Not a moment later, Elena's phone started to buzz. She pulled away to grab it and Damon gave a little growl. She checked her text. "It's Bonnie. She's outside...waiting to see if the coast is clear."

Damon brought his lips to hers, giving Elena another passionate kiss. He pulled away with a smirk on his face, "Now it is."

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The living room of the Salvatore boarding house was somberly silent. A strewed on the coffee table were candles, a few bowls of herbs, a black onyx gemstone, and the silver antique necklace.

Elena and Bonnie were on the couch looking confused, holding Grimoires on their laps. They faced each other, leaning their backs onto either arm of the couch. Damon's crinkled eyes darted between the girls, then to the glass of bourbon he was starting to pour.

"You two look like you could use a drink."

"Damon, could you not sound so satisfied," Elena said bitterly. She slammed her book shut, and it made Bonnie jump. "Sorry," Elena said quietly.

Bonnie's eyes changed from wide surprise to furrowed failure. "I'm not sure what happened. I'm so sure the spell worked. I felt something happen. Something change. You're sure you don't feel any different?"

Elena just shook her head. "I feel the same."

"Ok, look... it just wasn't meant to be, so...can we get back to the locator spell?" They both looked up at him, and he gave them an eyebrow raise, "Isn't that what you two were supposed to be doing today?"

Bonnie looked towards Elena, who just rolled her eyes and gave in, "Fine. Let's do the locator spell."

Damon clapped his hands together, "Finally! Down to business." He came over and sat between them on the couch, sitting on both their toes. He looked at Elena, then to Bonnie. Damon watched as Bonnie's quiet laugh quickly stopped, and her eyes grew wide.

Damon and Elena both narrowed their stares at Bonnie's deer-in-the-headlights look. Before they could turn around to see what had startled her, they heard the all too familiar voice.

"My, my, my...doesn't this look kinky."

Damon stood up with vampire speed. "Katherine. What the hell are you doing here?"


	7. Chapter 7: The Switch

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

**A/N; First I just want to say thank you so much for all the reviews! (thank you tsukarin, for reviewing _every_ chapter!) I'm so glad everyone is liking all the interactions! And thank you to everyone who has added this story to your favorites and alerts...it makes writing this that much more enjoyable! (it also comforts me until 1912!)**

**Now...at last, at long last...the (patiently) awaited switch! Sorry I didn't update sooner, but this chapter was actually more difficult than the last. Not to worry though, I have like eight other chapters started, with most being at least half done. I'm really excited about them!**

**I hope I've laid the ground work for what Elena might be like as a vampire. There is a scene coming soon, with Caroline. I think it sheds some interesting light on Elena. We're also going to see more of Jeremy. I wasn't going to make him a big part of the story, but changed my mind when I read everyone's amazing reviews. (kat st james inspired an upcoming scene by commenting on Damon trying to be a good big brother to Jeremy...loved that!)**

**I also have some interesting ideas for this story's later chapters. Just wondering how 'twisted' to make the 'switch'? Thoughts? (ps... sorry about my too long author's notes, hope it's not too annoying)**

**Finally (I promise!) Two reminders... One, this story is not just about romance, it's about angst... So get ready for some in this chapter... and through the rest of the story (there will also be light and fluffy bits, not to worry) And Two, this is an M story, so be prepared for some F-bombs... nothing over the top, everyone's just really worked up... Enjoy! (and Happy Reading!)**

Twisted Switch

_Most everyone seems willing to be a fool himself, but he can't bear to have anyone else one. ~Josh Billings_

Chapter 7: The Switch

"Katherine. What the hell are you doing here?"

Katherine was standing in the doorway of the Salvatore living room. She sauntered into the room and threw a hand on her hip. She flipped a bouncy curl over her shoulder, and said, "Well now, that's not a very nice welcome."

Damon stood glued to the floor in front of the couch, where a shocked Bonnie and Elena were sitting. "If you don't feel welcomed...maybe that's because you're not."

"Is that any way to talk to a lady," Katherine huffed with a little whimper.

"Lady? Katherine," Damon was now taking steps away from the couch, "I'm pretty sure pretending to be a lady, doesn't actually make you one." His words were a bit venomous.

"Ouch. You know, you were so polite in 1864. I miss my sweet little Damon."

Elena's feet hit the floor. She was now sitting on the edge of the couch, and Damon seemed to sense her aggravation. Ever since Katherine made her entrance, she had been staring him down. She hadn't even acknowledged that there was anyone else in the room.

Damon rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "Enough with the banter Katherine. What do you want?"

"What? I can't drop by to just say hi."

"Hi? You know Klaus has set up permanent residence in Mystic falls...so, it's probably not the smartest move coming back to say _hi_."

Damon and Katherine had moved into the middle of the room, closer towards each other. "Let's just say I wanted to take a walk on the wild side," she said seductivly. She still hadn't taken her big brown eyes off Damon.

Elena started to feel a warm rage rise up inside her. It was jealously. She didn't like the way Katherine was looking at Damon. Elena never really like the way Katherine looked at Damon. In the past, it was always out of worry because she knew the things Katherine did to him. She still had the ability to toy with him. It was something Damon might never be completely free of.

Though at the moment, she was feeling something else all together. Elena was feeling jealously, in layers. She was of course irritated that Katherine seemed to be seducing Damon with her succubus eyes, but she was even more angry that Damon seemed to be so effected by it. Elena hated feeling so base and primal. She had to make it stop.

Elena jumped to her feet, making Bonnie jump a bit. "Katherine! What the hell do you want?"

For the first time since she entered the room Katherine took her eyes off Damon, and moved them to Elena. Looking annoyed, she said with a huff, "Fine." She took a few steps back, and continued, "We just wanted to make sure you people weren't screwing anything up...and by the looks of things..." she ran her fingers over an open Grimoire, "We're just in time."

"Screwing what up?" Elena bit back.

"Wait...we?" Damon said overly cautiously, but now matching Elena's fire.

"Oh, did I forget to mention..." Katherine cocked her head to the side, "I didn't come alone."

Then, as if she was some sort of illusionist putting on a show, someone appeared, slowly making their way through the hallway. The three pairs of eyes watching Katherine were now focused on the figure leaning against the living room's doorway.

"Stefan," Elena said in a quiet, confused tone. Her voice also held angry undertones.

Damon stole a quick glance back at Elena, who met his gaze with what looked like a fearful expression. Then he looked back at Stefan. "Nice to see you brother," he said sarcastically, but held a little more anger then he meant to.

"Nice to be back." His voice was dry and resigned.

"What are you even doing here...with her?"

Katherine got their attention with a heavy utterance. "Now Damon, don't be jealous. Whose idea do think it was to steal those coffins in the first place?"

"That was your idea?" Elena asked incredulously.

With angry energy, Damon quickly interjected, "I knew it!"

"Oh please! You knew nothing," Katherine said with a roll of her eyes.

"I _do_ know that you better have come back to give Klaus his coffins!" Damon was now staring daggers at Katherine. Of course it had been her idea to steal the coffins. Stefan may have went off the deep end, but hopefully his self preservation was still in tact.

"Like I said, the reason we came _back_ was to make sure you didn't screw things up."

"And we're supposed to believe you have some kind of master plan?"

"I told you Damon...I always have a plan B." Katherine was trying to sound alluring, but all it was doing was pissing Damon off.

"Yeah? Well maybe if you kept certain people from ruining plan A, you wouldn't need a back up plan that involved suicide!" When Damon said 'certain people' he had had glanced over to Stefan, who was just watching the heated verbal sparring taking place in the middle of the Salvatore living room. All Elena and Bonnie could do was to watch as well.

Kathrine started laughing, "Oh that's right. You still don't know."

"Know what, Katherine?" Damon hissed.

She turned around to look at Stefan. "Do you want to tell him, or should I?" Katherine was enjoying being the center of attention a little too much.

Stefan was looking at Damon as he spoke to Katherine, "Don't bother. It doesn't matter anyway."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I thought we were over all the pouting." Stefan just gave Katherine a look.

Elena didn't like that look. It was the same look Damon would give her whenever she was trying to convince him to 'be the better man'. She didn't like any of this. She didn't like what was going on between Katherine and Damon, or what was going on between Katherine and Stefan.

Stefan had left her, given up on their relationship. Now here he was, showing up with Katherine? Had they been together this whole time? What was going on between them? She couldn't stop her stream of thoughts.

Elena's rescue came in the form of Damon's voice. He interrupted the little moment Stefan and Katherine seemed to be having. "Katherine, tell me what the hell you're talking about."

She snapped her head back around, "Damon, he saved your life that night. Your brother saved your life...again." She paused, then narrowed her eyes. "Do you really think Stefan would double cross you for no good reason?"

Damon's baby blues grew wide. His eyebrows shot up his forehead, then he disbelievingly started stammering, "What? No, no, no!" He was livid. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Damon!" Katherine got his attention back, "If Klaus was killed, his hybrids would have gone after you." She had stepped a bit closer, almost close enough to reach out and touch Damon.

"Who the hell asked you to save me?" He was looking past Katherine, and at Stefan.

"Damon!" Elena's eyes were on Damon, trying to process everything. He could have died that night. Stefan had not betrayed them. He choose to save Damon's life.

Stefan's gaze drifted to Elena. She was staring at Damon with a pleading expression. Damon turned around to face Elena. "Saving me, means that Klaus is still out there. It means he's still after you. Look what Stefan's stupidity has done."

"Damon, don't say that. You would have died."

Katherine and Stefan were watching them. By the look on their faces, neither seemed happy about the declarations that was going on between them. Katherine was about to open her mouth, but Stefan beat her to it. "Well, that's a lovely thank you."

Damon swung back around, "Klaus is still alive you idiot!" He advanced a little further, causing Katherine to back up.

She held up a hand to his chest, "And so are you. Do you think we would just let you die?"

Damon looked down into her plainspoken expression. Her hand was still on his chest when Damon asked, "What do you mean _we_?"

"Who do you think Klaus told about his plan? He let it slip when he thought I was Elena." Katherine was letting her brown eyes burn into Damon.

"You of all people, let Klaus live...to save me? Why do I find that hard to believe?"

Elena noticed how close Katherine and Damon had gotten. She moved back and sat on the couch. It was so much information to take in. _Your brother saved your life_. Katherine had sounded so sincere. Elena looked back at Stefan who was now meeting her eyes. They were filled with a mixture of emotions. His body language screamed he didn't care, but his green eyes couldn't lie.

"Elena," Bonnie whispered. She had moved from off the couch to kneel on the floor in front of the coffee table. "Look at the necklace." Elena's eyes grew wide, and she was back on her feet.

Katherine and Damon were still staring each other down when they heard Stefan speak. "What have you guys done?" Apprehension filled his voice. Upon seeing the look on his face, they followed his gaze.

The necklace was floating in mid air.

With everyone's eyes now on the talisman, there was a quick flash of light as if someone had taken a picture. The necklace dropped back onto the coffee table. Flames rose from the unlit candles. They died down, and both doppelgangers fell to the ground. Then the flames burned out.

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The minute both girls had fallen to the floor, time appeared to move to a stop. Everything seemed to happen at once, yet everyone in the room was only aware of the occupied space right in front of them.

Elena had been standing next to Bonnie, who had been kneeling on the floor. Damon had beat Stefan to Elena's body. It had been easy to do since he used vampire speed and there was no hesitation in Damon's movements.

Stefan felt confused. His instincts were to run over to Elena, instead he knelt next to Katherine's body. He took one of her hands into his.

Damon scooped Elena's head up in one hand, and touched her face with the other, "Elena?" She was breathing, but he was still panicked. "Bonnie, what happened?"

Bonnie was utterly distraught. "I don't know." She took one of Elena's hands in hers. "The spell. It's the spell, but something's...strange."

Elena's body started to move. She took a deep breath, and opened her eyes. She looked up at Damon, a lost look all over her face. "Damon?"

"Yeah, it's me," he smiled at the way she asked his name. "Are you alright?" The way Damon was looking at her made unwanted tears fall from her eyes. He gently brushed the hair from her face and softly said, "Hey...it's ok... you're gonna be fine." Unexpectedly, she threw her arms around him. Damon took her in his arms and hugged her tight. He looked over her shoulder at Bonnie with a confused look, "What did the spell do?"

"I'm not sure," Bonnie answered as she started to rub her friend's back. Elena's body flinched at her touch. Bonnie and Damon exchanged the same narrowed eyes before something seemed to come over the girl in his arms.

She let her arms fall away, and Damon loosened his grip. She pushed him away. He looked confused, and a little hurt, as she spoke, "What's going on? What's happening?" Damon and Bonnie shared another look, then their eyes grew wide as she looked at her doppelgangers' body, "Elena?"

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Stefan had Katherine's hand, and was kneeling next to her. She was starting to wake up. He brushed hair out of her face. "Katherine?"

She opened her eyes and saw him looking at her with concern. "Stefan?"

He started to stroke her arm. "Are you alright?" She looked down at his hand fondling her arm, and her confusion started bubbling up into anger. She pulled her arm back violently. Stefan just looked at her strangely. Before he could speak a voice came from across the room.

"_Elena_?"

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Both girls got to their feet. The brothers and Bonnie each took a step back from their respected doppelganger. They had expressions on their faces that went beyond bewilderment.

The fuming brunette standing in front of Bonnie and Damon, turned around to them both and started yelling. "What happened! What did you do! What the fuck did you two do!" She took a step closer to them, and they instinctively backed up.

Damon and Bonnie just stood there like statues. Bonnie was too stunned to move or say anything. Damon was frozen out of pure fear. Fear, because he was starting to realize what the spell had done.

Stefan looked from one doppelganger to the other. He looked at the girl next to him, anxiety consuming his voice, "Katherine?"

"I am not Katherine!" She shoved him, and he fell back a few feet.

Stefan stepped back to her, then asked uneasily, "Elena?" He tried to reach for her arm, but she pulled it away from him.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled, and pushed him harder. This time Stefan fell to the ground.

Damon ran past Katherine. He grabbed Elena's shoulders, and turned her towards him. He cupped her face, and looked her over. Fear and worry spilling out his blue eyes. "Elena?"

She nodded her head.

Stefan had a confused and hurtful look across his face. He was staring at his brother with Elena's face in his hands. Stefan watched as Elena grabbed onto Damon's wrists and looked up into his face. He felt an invisible knife twist in his gut as her eyes filled up with tears. "Damon, what happened?'

Stefan now directed his gaze at Damon, rage swelling up inside him. "What the hell have you done," he venomously accused Damon.

He turned to look at Stefan on the floor. Damon had let his hands fall from Elena's face. "You think I did this?"

"This has you written all over it," he spat.

Damon ignored him, and looked back to Elena, whose brown eyes was now wide, "Oh my god, the spell. Damon, this is my fault."

"Elena, clam down," he shushed to her, "It's gonna be fine. We'll just reverse it."

"This was your idea?" Katherine yelled from across the room. Her initial wrath had turned into mental disarray. Katherine's vampire switch was gone. Her emotions were dulled, but she had no way of controlling them. She turned back to Bonnie. "Bennett, you better break this spell!" She tried to sound intimidating, but her voice cracked and tears started to stream down her face. "You need to fix this! Now!"

Stefan and Damon were oddly wonder-struck. They had never seen Katherine so unguarded and vulnerable.

Bonnie was dazed. She had been watching everything happen around her and was utterly blindsided. She had watched her best friend use vampire strength to throw Stefan to the floor, and now Katherine was standing in front of her...crying.

Katherine fell to the couch, and started running her hands through her hair. Bonnie didn't know what else to do, so she just sat next to her. She spoke as comfortingly as she could, "Of course I'm going to fix this."

Stefan came over to Damon and forcefully grabbed him by the arm. He got in his face, yelling. "What the hell were you thinking? Why did you let this happen?"

Damon had been so relieved, and glad, that his brother had come back, even if deep down he was terrified that it might mean losing Elena. However, all that was being overshadowed by the fact that Stefan had sauntered back in to town...with Katherine. Damon couldn't help but be twisted up at seeing the two of them together.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Like you have any claim to righteousness. You're the one who fucked everything up. Then you go and listen to her, and steal Klaus' family! Did you even think of what Klaus' revenge might be? Or did you just not care?"

"You're right, Damon. I didn't care about any of that." Stefan looked over Damon's shoulder at Elena who had been watching them, and every single one of their movements. He looked her straight in the eyes as he slowly said, "All I care about anymore is my revenge."

Elena was barely able to comprehend his words before she let her new vampire body take over and push Damon out of the way. Katherine's body might have been used to control, but Elena's mind was not. In an instant, she had grabbed Stefan's arms and threw him across the room.

His body slammed into the wall next to the fireplace. He crumpled to the ground along with fragments of the wall. He looked up at Elena who was breathing heavily. She was seething at him. All he could do was lie there frozen with a cautiously worried expression.

Damon just stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. He immediately felt a little nervous. His brow was deeply furrowed. Damon started to slowly move toward Elena. His voice was gentle, but firm when he spoke, "Elena, come on. Come with me."

She was still staring daggers at Stefan, but let Damon take her by the arm and out of the room. As Damon whisked her up the stairs, he yelled over his shoulder, "Bonnie, fix this!"


	8. Chapter 8: Steady Thoughts

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

**A/N; Another quote I love! I think it's another great Delena quote...what do you think?**

**No, I promise I have not abandoned this story, far from it... I have been working on it, however... **

**I have been bouncing between Philadelphia and Baltimore for the past three weeks visiting a loved one in the hospital, and then in hospice... So, needless to say, I've been preoccupied... the writing definitely helped me keep my sanity though :)**

**But, finally, finally, finally... Chapter 8! It took me a while to get it right... I wrote parts of this chapter twice, then had to combine them... First I wrote it and didn't remember saving it, so I wrote it again... that's what spending nine hours a day at the hospital will do to you :)**

**I actually really like these scenes because they are more Damon-centric... I got to interpret some of Damon's emotions from earlier chapters :) Hope you like. I am really happy with this chapter, and really excited about the next few chapters too... I have big plans for this story, so thank you to everyone who has patiently waited for this update :)**

**Happy Reading :)**

Twisted Switch

_Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss_

Chapter Eight: Steady Thoughts

Sometimes the things we don't say, and won't admit, destroy us slowly. Sometimes loving someone will break your heart.

It's heartbreaking to hang on, when you should let go. When hanging on, is an everyday battle. It hurts...hanging on so hard, for so long.

You hold onto hope, when there is none. You keep your eyes on the light, even when everything else is dark. It breaks your heart to hold on, but it breaks your spirit that you want to let go.

When does love start to fade to gray, and cross the line to hatred? How do you stop it? What if you let it? Are you ever done? Done punishing yourself for wanting to let go? Some questions, don't have answers.

Damon closed his bedroom door behind him, and leaned up against it. He just stood there for a minute, not sure what to do. Elena was in a vampire body now. And by the way Elena had thrown Stefan across the room, Damon wasn't sure what she might do next.

He had never had to deal with an unpredictable Elena before. Suicidal...yes. Insane plans...yes. Somehow though, Damon had always been able to tell just how far she'd go...and stop her. However, he never would have imagined the obvious deep seeded anger she had been holding against Stefan.

Elena was weaving around the middle of the room. Her jaws were clenched, and her fists were balled tight. Elena was still breathing insanely heavy. Her chest was rapidly moving up and down, even though she didn't really need the air.

"Elena?" Damon had asked her name gently and slowly, almost checking to see if she still knew who she was. She didn't answer, and just kept pacing. He got a little braver, and took a step closer, "Elena? Elena!" She stopped to look at him. Damon had never seen that look in her eyes.

"I'm just...so angry!" She managed to form a few words through gritted teeth. Her voice held more than anger, though. It held an unbelievable amount of pain.

All the things Elena had been feeling were rising up inside her. Her emotions were heightened now, and she felt _everything_. Unwanted thoughts had flooded into her, and were threatening to pour out.

Then, Elena began to rant. "He left _me_! He left _us_! He went with _her_! He just gave up everything we had!" Damon decided to let her get it out of her system. "Why did he even come back? He should have just stayed gone!"

Damon watched her eyes fight between black and brown. "Elena..." All he could seem to do was mutter her name.

"Damon, I've held back because of him," she said, her eyes full of guilt and regret, "And all this time he's been with _her_?"

Damon could see the hurt behind her anger. He was trying to think of something to say, but wasn't sure how to say it. What came out was more of what he was hoping. "Stefan is not with Katherine. They are _not_ together."

Katherine's body obviously had self control, but Elena's mind was threatening the veins under her eyes, turning them gray. Her vampire body was trying to stay normal, but her rage was making her lose control. "I loved him with everything I had. I held out hope, even when he pushed me away. I couldn't get his humanity back. I couldn't save him. Did she?"

"Elena, we tried everything. You." Damon looked straight at her. "_You_ did all that you could."

Her eyes turned back to soft brown. Elena finally stood still. Her anger turning into hurtful tears, as she realized the truth behind her words. "Stefan didn't love me enough to stay. He choose me last."

Damon was now looking at her with a heartbreaking expression. He hated to see Elena in this much pain. "Elena..." Damon had moved close enough that he was now an arms length away. He wanted to grab her up in his arms, but he was almost afraid he'd break her. Elena looked so fragile. So, all he did was reach for her hand to hold.

With her next question, Damon felt his soul shatter. "Why wasn't I enough?"

Damon was watching her new heightened emotions start to destroy her, and tear her apart. He tried to regain some semblance of resolution for Elena's sake. "No! Elena you-" But he wasn't fast enough, and her rage quickly returned, with vengeance.

"I just want to hurt him." She tore her hand away, and started to pace again. "I want him to feel the way I feel." She was starting to get a wild look in her eyes. "When I threw him, I felt...better. It felt good..." she started to trail off. Elena was once again, standing still. An awkward serenity started to wash over her face.

Damon gave her an odd stare. "That look..." He had started to speak, but apparently some thought got the better of her.

"I can't make it stop!" When she spoke, she had a frenzied desperation in her voice. "Why can't I make it stop? I just want it to stop..." The same serenity started to creep into her expression. This time Damon recognized it for what it was.

"Oh, no you don't." He tried to grab her, but she pushed him away. Damon became more resolved, and with a stern voice commanded her. "Elena, look at me!"

Damon didn't like the where her mind was wandering to, and he knew he had to calm her thoughts. He couldn't let her find that switch. Damon was so afraid Elena would try to turn off the pain, and he was determined not to let that happen.

This was Elena. _His_ Elena. The girl who, only last night, Damon had held in his arms listening to her breath. He had watched how calm and still she slept on his chest. His hands tangled in her hair.

She really had been affected by what Damon had said to her brother. _Jeremy, don't be an idiot! What do you think losing you would do to your sister? You know how much you mean to her. She can't lose you. She's lost enough. So that's another reason to wise up and get your fucking act together! _It was like she was finally understanding that Damon got her.

Elena had held his gaze for a few moments until she shut her eyes tight, wishing it all away. Before Elena could begin to crazily stir around the room again, Damon caught her face in his hands. Her infuriated eyes shot open. Darker than soft brown, but still lighter than harsh black.

This was also the girl that just hours ago, even though it now seemed like an eternity, Damon had been passionately kissing. Finally giving himself permission to take what he had wanted for so long, he had found the bravery to take her chin and guide those irresistible lips to his.

The moment Elena had leaned into him, ready to leap without looking, was _the_ moment. The moment Damon had pushed away all his guilt for Elena being his brother's girl, and all his interpretations of how the timing wasn't right. She knew how much he had grown to care about her, and she had been ready to kiss him again.

Now, he was standing in his bedroom with Katherine's body, and Elena behind the wheel. Watching her was torturing him. Not that Damon didn't secretly dream of spending an eternity with a vampire Elena, but his wildest visions never included a vampire Elena like this. Someone at war with their unresolved memories. The battle being fought in their own body.

He was relieved when Elena let him cup her face. She also let Damon draw her in with his calm, soothing voice. It held gentleness and concern. "Elena, listen to me, ok? Are you listening?"

"Yes," she still sounded angry. Elena wasn't looking at him, so much as she was looking near him, refusing to let herself meet his concerned gaze. He was so afraid she'd rip her face away, and tear back down the stairs. Or worse, flip her new vampire switch.

Damon looked deep into her eyes, and softly crooned., "Elena...listen to my voice...hear it...concentrate on it. Do you hear me?"

She was actually looking into his eyes now. Before, Elena had just been angrily staring at Damon because he happened to be in front of her, but now she was actually seeing him. "Yes." Her fury began to ease up a little. Elena's eyes were now glistening, threatening to well up with angry tears.

"Good. Keep concentrating on my voice. Listen to it. You feel yourself calming down. Now close your eyes. You still hear my voice, don't you?"

She nodded her head. It was working. Elena was letting his words wash over her. Damon noticed her body start to relax a little. Damon wished he could hear her heartbeat, or feel the blood rushing through her body. Helplessly, he couldn't hear or feel anything.

There were a few moments of silence. Damon had moved his hands down to grip her shoulders. They each let out an unnecessary, but much needed, deep breath. Then Elena slowly lifted her eyelids, revealing soft mahogany eyes. Damon smiled.

"There you are," he whispered.

Elena gave him a halfhearted half-smile. This time her voice was weary, but tranquil. "Thank you."

Damon was still smiling. "Anytime."

"Damon?"

"Yeah?"

"I feel a little...weak." She started to look a little pale, more so then her already dead complexion. Damon felt her start to shake a little, watching as her knees gave out. Elena fell forward, and Damon caught her.

"Ok...take it easy there, tiger," he said moving her backwards. Damon helped her sit on the end of his bed. He put his hands on her knees, bending down to look into her face. He raised his eyebrows.

She looked confused as Damon examined her. "Why do I feel like this?" Elena wasn't sure if she liked the look on his face.

"Yeah..." he drawled hesitantly, "I think that little tirade of yours drained you a little...well, a lot." He looked her over once more. Damon seemed to be groping with what to say. "Your body...Katherine's...um, vampire body...needs blood." He had no idea how to phrase what he had just said.

Elena looked at Damon like she had been expecting him to say that, but still looked disgusted. He looked at her furrowed brow. This was going to be interesting.

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If you had told Damon yesterday that he would be pulling a bag of blood out of the drawer of his night stand for _Elena_...well, he probably would have eased up on his brunch in a bottle. But no, this wasn't drunken imagery. He was actually sitting on his bed turning an intravenous line into a straw for Elena to sip.

She hesitated at first. But as soon as the redness hit her lips, Elena greedily drank it up. It wasn't that it tasted that good, more like her body just needed it.

Damon was literally sitting right next to Elena. If she had gotten any closer, she would have been on his lap. He watched as she held the tube, sucking hard for the crimson liquid. Damon had over 150 years worth of intriguing experiences, but this took the cake.

He had never been so tormented, so confused...and so turned on, at the same time. Even more, he was still holding the bag for her. When she had consumed more than half the substance, Damon said, "Sorry it's a little warm, and...not fresh." She just gave him a weird look, and finished slurping the rest out of the bag. "Better?"

Elena just nodded her head. She looked like she wanted to be disgusted with herself, but she really did feel better. Damon took the make-shift straw from her, and laid the blood bag on his night stand. When he turned back around, he found Elena looking deep into his eyes.

"Damon, I..." she trailed off, not sure of what to say.

He smiled at her. "Why don't you just rest?"

"Vampires rest?"

"Of course we do. Why do you think we have beds? I mean other than-" Elena cut him off with a glare, but couldn't help but let a little smile peak through the edges. Damon stood up, and pulled back his covers. "Vampires need rest so they can dream."

"Dream?" Elena gave him a confused look as she kicked off her shoes and crawled between the sheets.

"Everyone needs to dream...even vampires. It's a way to work out our subconscious thoughts."

Elena settled her head into Damon's pillows. She was becoming intoxicated in their scent. "Is that for real?" She asked lazily.

"Yes," he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. Then he smirked, "Would I lie?"

Elena narrowed her eyes at him, but just a bit. Damon's smirk had become like a warm, cozy security blanket. She took a deep breath, and rolled onto her side.

Damon watched as she closed her eyes. He let his fingers brush a strand of hair out of her face. Then she whispered, "Damon?"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry," she said even more quietly.

Elena looked up into Damon's cool blue eyes. His eyebrows were drawn together in a questioning expression. He wasn't exactly sure what she meant, but now wasn't the time. Damon relaxed his face, and smiled at her. "Just rest."

All she did was close her eyes.

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Damon left the room, and gently closed the door behind him. He rested against it. His mind was reeling. Damon was feeling so many emotions.

He really had begun to believe his brother was lost to him when he left, but he wasn't. Stefan had saved him. He had saved his life _again_.

When he thought Stefan was really gone, Damon had let himself believe that Elena and him could really be together. He believed that she might actually choose him. Now that his brother wasn't completely gone, he felt even more guilty for kissing Elena. For wanting her.

But he had done it, he had taken what he wanted. Damon had let go, and Elena had let him. Beyond that, he knew nothing.

Their kiss had been such a build up, that Damon half expected it to turn into some monumental storm of ripped clothing. Instead, it had just been comfortable. A perfect fit. The passionate touches they had shared on the couch had felt so natural. It was like there had never been a time where he wasn't kissing her.

Sure, the kiss had been crushing and passionate, but it had held more than just pure sexuality. It had held their past in it. A past that involved friendship and hate, understanding and mistakes, growing and forgiveness...and finally, love and devotion.

They never had talked about what would happen when Stefan reentered the picture. However, Elena's anger toward his brother definitely meant unresolved feelings.

Damon was a mess of confusion.

He finally moved away from his door, and started down the hallway. Once he got to the top of the stairs, he saw Stefan standing on the first landing. Damon cautiously eyed him up. He wasn't sure how long Stefan had been listening, and wasn't sure what he had overheard.

If Stefan had heard anything, he was doing an awful good job at pretending he didn't. He was standing nonchalantly with his arms crossed over his chest. He had a relaxed expression on his face.

"Stefan, lurking really doesn't suit you."

He smiled, but his tone was devoid of any emotion or concern. "Katherine's freaking out." Stefan walked down a few steps, then turned back and said, "Maybe you can use that new magic touch of yours to calm her down too." Damon felt a surge of guilt, and anger. He started to say something, but Stefan cut him off, "Save it."

Damon now had to take the stairs two at a time to catch up.

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As the brothers descended the stairs, Damon could tell what Stefan had been talking about. Katherine was pacing back in forth in front of the fireplace, looking like quite the lunatic. The second Stefan and Damon hit the bottom of the stairs, Katherine starting cursing at them. The language coming out of her mouth would have made a sailor blush.

Damon was surprisingly taken aback, mostly because she wasn't even making sense. Stefan couldn't help but be amused by his brothers expression. Stefan hadn't realized how used to Katherine he had gotten in the past couple weeks. He turned to Damon and said, "She's actually calmed down a bit." In spite of himself, Damon joined in Stefan's amusement.

"I heard that!" Katherine practically shrieked from across the room. "I may not have vampire hearing at the minute, but I'm not fucking deaf!"

"Yeah, you're not mute either," Damon sneered. He started to follow Stefan into the room, and saw Bonnie sitting on the couch. She seemed to be clutching something, and chanting with her eyes closed.

"Bonnie?" Damon spoke her name in a question, which made her eyes open. He could see tinges of panic laced with what looked like guilt.

Bonnie's voice sounded a bit hysterical, but she was very quiet when she spoke. "It's not working." Damon now noticed that what she had been clutching was the necklace.

"You better get this witch bitch to fix this." Bonnie and Damon both glared and Katherine, although she didn't notice. She had gone back to pacing. "I want my fucking body back," Katherine said to no one in particular..

"Katherine," Stefan spoke from across the room, "Clam down."

"And shut up," Damon added for good measure.

"Shut up? Really? Shut up?" She was half stammering, and half panting his hysterics. Katherine seemed like she was going to have a panic attack.

Damon had taken a seat next to Bonnie, but was now looking over his shoulder back at his brother. "Stefan," he gave a head nod towards the crazy brunette gulping large breaths. Stefan followed his cue and walked across the room to Katherine.

Stefan poured a drink before forcing Katherine to sit down in the closest chair. He pushed the tumbler of bourbon into her hand, "Drink this, and for your own sake...calm down." He started firmly, but ended with gentleness in his voice.

Damon watched as a pout crossed Katherine's lips, but she had definitely had been affected by Stefan. She no longer seemed as if she was going to pass out, so he turned back to Bonnie. "Now, what's the matter? What won't work?"

"The necklace. The onyx. I...I can't..." Bonnie was starting to mimic Katherine.

"Bonnie, slow down. Take a breath. What do you mean the stone's not working? I thought all you needed to do was take it's magic away, or some shit like that. Why can't you do that?"

"There's something protecting it."

"Well, you said it would become indestructible, so just...un-destruct it. Take the magic out of it. Break the damn spell!"

"I can't," she whispered.

"What do you mean you _can't_?" Katherine interjected.

Damon's patience was wearing thin. Between the unpredictable vampire asleep in his bed, the guilt-stricken witch sitting next to him, and the emotionally unstable human squirming in her chair, Damon was starting to lose it himself. "Katherine, you're not helping! So again, shut the fuck up!" He took a deep breath, and a little more calmly, said to Bonnie, "Why can't you just destroy the stone?"

"Something else is protecting it's magic, and it doesn't feel like mine." Bonnie had listened to Damon and had taken a few more deep breaths. She was speaking in the slow and intense voice she used when something dire was happening. "I'm not strong enough to break through it. And the necklace..."

Damon felt his heart drop, and drew in an uneasy breath. "What about the necklace?"

"It's like it went dead." Bonnie looked down at the talisman in her hands. "I thought I could use it's magic to destroy the onyx, but it I can't pick up any magic from it. I don't understand, it has it's own magic. We couldn't have used it all up doing the spell."

"So what does this mean?"

"This means that until I can figure out how to reverse the spell, or destroy the stone...Elena and Katherine will stay like this." Bonnie's gaze drifted up, beyond Damon, and landed on Katherine.

"Excuse me? Stay human?" Katherine shot up from the chair, spilling her drink in the process. The panic in her eyes quickly faded to an odd wildness. Damon was staring at Katherine as well, but her brown eyes darted right to Stefan. "Well...you can kiss Elena's humanity good bye, because I can not stay like this."

"Katherine, don't even think about it," Damon growled.

Stefan, who had been standing quietly behind the drink cart, decided to speak. His tone was impersonal, yet purposeful, "Damon, is Elena on vervain?"

He narrowed his eyes, then slowly said, "Not today. Why?"

Instead of giving an answer, Stefan was standing in front of Katherine in a flash. He was looking her straight in the eyes.

"Stefan, don't you dare." Katherine tried to fight what was coming, but it was useless.

"You will not leave this boarding house, unless someone forcibly removes you. Are we clear?" Katherine watched as his eyes dilated. Then, it was over.

When he broke their stare, she became livid. Katherine started ineffectively banging on his chest with balled fists. "I can not believe you just did that. How dare you."

"You'll get over it." Stefan said in the same neutral tone, but his resolve seemed to be fading the more he looked at her. Katherine let her hands fall to her sides. Tears were starting to well up behind her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.

"Alright," Damon interrupted loudly, "It's obviously getting late...and awkward. Bonnie, I'll walk you out."

Stefan and Katherine looked over towards Damon, then back at each other. Stefan turned and walked back to the drink cart. Katherine just sank back into her chair.

Bonnie looked shockingly at Damon as he stood up and outstretched his hand to help her up. She reluctantly took it, but said. "It's ok, Damon. I know where my car is."

"Yeah, but it's dark. Plus," he looked back at the his brother and the former love of his life, and death, "I could use some air."

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"You really didn't have to walk me to my car."

"Well, I wanted to." Damon leaned against the car's door to the backseat as Bonnie opened her driver side door. "I also wanted to talk to you."

"Damon...I'm sorry! I can't believe this happened!" Bonnie blurted out the words that she had been holding in all night. Damon was actually feeling bad for the witch. She was Elena's best friend after all, and she was obviously blaming herself for the events of the evening. Bonnie lowered her head, "How could I get the spell so wrong?"

"Bonnie, don't be so hard on yourself." Bonnie brought her head up, and fixed her eyes on Damon as he continued, "You didn't do the spell wrong. It worked out exactly the way it was supposed to."

"What are you talking about? Did you know this was going to happen?"

"No, but hindsight's 20/20." She looked confused. "Bonnie, come on. You're not that dense. Protection thru a 'physical phenomenon'..."

Then it dawned on her. "Oh my god...how could I not see that?"

"Like I said, don't beat yourself up. I didn't see it either."

Bonnie shut her car door, and leaned up against it. She crossed her arms, mimicking Damon. "I really did think the spell was going to protect Elena. I just wanted to keep her safe."

"And you did. Klaus needs Elena's blood...her human doppelganger blood."

"So, Klaus will want Katherine instead of Elena..."

"I think he might want them both." Damon seemed to become lost in his own thoughts.

Her confusion was being matched by her annoyance at Damon's cryptic messages. "What are you talking about?" Bonnie's demeanor snapped him out of it.

"Klaus wanting Elena's blood _was_ our biggest problem. Now thanks to Stefan, we have to worry about Klaus playing dirty to get those stupid coffins back."

"Damon, what did Klaus threaten you with?" She could tell he was hesitating. "It's ok. You can tell me."

"He told me," Damon paused like it was going to hurt to say the words, "He said it didn't matter how bruised or broken she was...inside or out."

"What do you think he meant?" Bonnie asked, even if she didn't want to know.

"Bonnie, I really don't want to say all the dark places that thought has taken my mind. I just...I can't see her broken." Damon ran a hand through his raven locks. "I've even resigned myself to losing her." He turned to face Bonnie, pain filling up his face and flooding out his steel blue eyes. "I just don't want to see her destroyed, and Klaus will destroy her...her body, her mind, her heart. I won't let that happen!"

Bonnie was looking at Damon with the expression he had been giving her when they first got to the car. "I know. I'm not going to let anything happen to her either."

Damon wasn't smiling. His lips were tight. He just nodded. Bonnie opened her car door again, and went to get in her car.

"Wait. I wanted to talk to you about something. Actually, more like I need a few...favors."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, and looked at him suspiciously. "What kind of favors?"

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Bonnie was sitting in her car, leaning an arm out the window. She looked like she was regretting part of what she had just agreed to.

Once again, Damon was leaning up against Bonnie's car. After the silence had gone on long enough, he leaned down into her window. "Do you want me to go and talk to them? You can stay with Elena."

"No," Bonnie said quickly. Damon narrowed his eyes at her. "It's just...I don't know if I can handle Elena by myself." Bonnie was incredibly nervous about the conversation she was going to have in the morning, but she decided that she could handle that better than vampire Elena. "You'll take care of her."

Damon wasn't sure if she was asking him, or telling him. He nodded his head, and said, "You know I will."

"And I think that's why I'm ok with leaving. You can deal with her."

"You know, she is in Katherine's body. I'm not stronger than her."

"That's not how you're going to get through this. Not with that kind of strength."

Bonnie gave Damon a reassuring smile. Damon tried to smile back. "Thanks."

She started her car, then looked back out the window at him. "You know, none of this means I like you."

Damon smirked, "I don't like you either."

"Good. We agree. We both love Elena, and we both want to keep her safe."

He rolled his eyes, "Not my first rodeo in that department."

"I also don't forgive you for all the things you've done."

"Did I say I was sorry?" He gave her another classic Damon smirk.

"Well, at least we're on the same page." Bonnie failed to stop the smile fighting it's way to her face, and Damon couldn't help but sincerely smile back. "I'll talk to Alaric and Jeremy in the morning, Caroline too. Elena can say she's staying with me tonight."

"Thanks, Bonnie." Damon backed away from the car. He turned to walk back toward the boarding house.

"Damon," Bonnie called out. She poked her head out of the car one last time before driving away. "I know you'll take of her." She smiled, then she was gone.

As he watched the car pull down the driveway, Damon let a small smile cross his lips.

"Well, that was touching." A voice came from the shadows next to him. Damon's smile dropped as soon as he saw Stefan.

Damon tried to ignore his own annoyance and stalked back to the house. "Was that your plan? Come back to town, be the guy who lurks around and listens to everyone's conversations?"

Stefan supplied a humorless chuckle as he followed Damon. "Just pleased to see you and Elena's best friend getting along."

"You're mad that I'm bonding with Bonnie?" Damon turned around to look at his brother. Stefan did look a bit entertained, but he also looked a little pissed off. "Wait...is that what this is? You think I'm trying to replace you?"

Stefan scowled at him, "Like you could."

"Like I'd want too," Damon scowled back.

The brothers stared each other down for a few moments before Damon became annoyed and started to once again walk back towards the house. This time Stefan didn't follow, but he did call after him.

"You don't deserve her Damon."

Stefan's words hit him hard. Damon's back was turned, so Stefan couldn't see the fear and hurt on his face. He mustered enough of a mask to be able to turn around and face him, "And I suppose you do?"

"No." Stefan seemed serious, like he was no longer trying to hurt Damon with his words. "Neither of us do. She deserves a better life."

An understanding expression came across his face, "You're probably right." Damon looked at Stefan's satisfied expression, then added, "But you know, maybe we should let Elena decide that."

The brothers shared one more intense look of loathing. Neither one went back into the boarding house. Damon headed straight for his car, while Stefan disappeared into the woods.

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**Final A/N; I really hope this chapter was worth the wait :) I really hope I did Damon justice and he wasn't too OOC... what do you think?**

**You shouldn't have to wait long for Chapter 9... With a working title of A Little Bit of Normal (And a Whole Lot of Crazy), expect to see some all too familiar scenes and some probably way out of character ones... what can I say? emotions are heightened, and I need to work through some of my TVD demons... I mean damons... wait, no I had it right the first time, demons... lol**

**Remember, this is romance _and angst_... But, don't worry, I am a firm believer in happy endings... therefore, by the end of the story, I plan for everyone to be paired up with someone (sorry for the spoiler, but it goes without saying that Delena will end up together, lol)**

**Some of the other future pairings may surprise you... I can be swayed through, so include any of your other favorite pairings with your review, so Happy reviewing!**


	9. Chapter 9: A Little Bit of Normal

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

**A/N; I know it's been way too long since I've updated Twisted Switch, but I really appreciate everyone who is still sticking with this story. I would also like to thank everyone who has added Twisted Switch to your favorites list, signed up for story alerts, and anyone who has left a review. Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**Since it's been so long, let's do a mini-recap (or... _previously on the vampire diaries_)**

**Damon and Elena shared their first kiss (since the night of homecoming) on the Salvatore's couch... Bonnie tried, and 'failed' at the spell... Katherine crashes the party, and Stefan follows... our doppelgangers switch bodies, and Elena proceeds to throw Stefan across the room... Damon whisks her away, and calms her down... then he walks Bonnie to her car, and Stefan gets a little pissed... _You're mad that I'm bonding with Bonnie? Wait...is that what this is? You think I'm trying to replace you?_**

_**Like you could**_

_**Like I'd want too**_

_**You don't deserve her Damon.**_

_**And I suppose you do?**_

_**No. Neither of us do. She deserves a better life.**_

_**You're probably right. But you know, maybe we should let Elena decide that.**_

**Happy Reading :)**

Twisted Switch

_It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis. ~Margaret Bonnano_

Chapter Nine: A Little Bit of Normal (And a Whole Lot of Crazy)

The sky was pure black velvet, with stars shinning like specks of diamond dust, and a huge pearl moon lighting the way. Bonnie found herself laying on the ground, staring at the night sky. She was laying in a patch of cool, soft grass. She got up, and started walking. The woods around her were so familiar. She instantly noticed these were the same woods from her dream.

Bonnie knew she was walking towards the coffins. She was going to find out where they were.

Just as she approached the clearing, she heard someone call her name. It was only a whisper, so she didn't recognize the voice. When she turned around, she almost screamed. It was Klaus.

He was smiling at her oddly. "Hello, Bonnie," he said nonchalantly.

"Klaus! What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you."

"Why?"

"I wanted to thank you for helping me out with my little problem."

Bonnie was confused. "What? What are you talking about?" She asked bewildered, but he wasn't paying attention to her anymore. Klaus was looking towards the clearing.

"Is that where they are?" He asked. Bonnie followed his eyes towards the clearing, trying to see ahead, but she couldn't see anything. It was growing dark, shadows creeping up from under the brush.

"Where are we?" Bonnie could feel a panic and a tightness rise in her chest.

Klaus was no longer looking at the clearing, or at her. He was looking up at the sky, bright moonlight shining on his face. "You'll meet them soon."

She looked back at him. "Who?" Bonnie looked away from him, and back towards the clearing. It was even darker. She looked back at Klaus. This time she screamed.

Bonnie woke up. She had fallen asleep on top of her covers. It was all a dream, but she had been walking toward the coffins. She just couldn't remember where she had been. All Bonnie could remember was turning back to look at Klaus, and him turning into a werewolf.

Grabbing her cell phone, Bonnie looked at the time. She couldn't have been asleep long. She threw her phone on the bed next to the round, silver necklace and the black onyx stone. Her stomach was twisted up in knots. She was feeling so guilty. Why had she agreed to the spell?

Bonnie couldn't understand why she wasn't able to take the magic out of the onyx. And the necklace...she couldn't feel any of it's magic. She picked it up, twirling it around her fingers, letting it drop and fall between her hands. She felt nothing.

What had she done? Elena was in Katherine's body. Her best friend was a vampire, and if she couldn't fix it, she would stay like that. Bonnie had to find out more about the stone, more about the magic she could feel protecting it. She desperately wished she had someone around for guidance.

It was times like these that Bonnie missed her Grams. She had been like a mother to her. More than that, she had been a mentor and a friend. Ever since her grandmother had returned to help her send the ghosts away, she had been missing her more. Seeing her so briefly, just to have her ripped away, was like losing her all over again. Breaking up with Jeremy had made it even worse.

Bonnie replayed the day's events over again in her head. It has started out being such a great day. Elena and her had sat around talking about non-important things, pretending they had never been pulled into a world full of the supernatural. She thought about Elena again, and felt guilty for leaving without saying goodbye.

She didn't want Elena to think she wasn't comfortable with her. She reached for her phone and found Elena's number. Bonnie had come a long way since being the vampire hating Bennett witch, as Katherine once called her. From seeing Damon's face change for the first time, to her reaction at Caroline being turned into a vampire...Bonnie had definitely come a long way. She was almost understanding Emily's allegiance to the vampires.

She stared at the number lighting up the screen. For some reason, she just couldn't make the call. Then, she did something that should have felt wrong, but it didn't. It felt completely natural. Bonnie found another number, and hit the send button.

_Hello_.

"Damon?" 

_Bonnie? Are you ok?_

She was taken back a bit. Both because she was still surprised that she actually called him, and also stunned at how concerned he seemed. "I'm fine," she stammered. "I called to see how Elena was doing."

_She's probably still sleeping. I'm pulling up the driveway now._

"What? You left her alone?"

_Bonnie, relax. Elena's fine. I just had to get a few things._

"Fine," she gave in. Bonnie couldn't help but let out a long sigh. "Look, I just wanted to check on her, and let you know that I'll be over first thing in the morning. I'm going to look through the Grimoires all night until I find something."

_I'm not sure that's the best idea._

"What?" She snapped. Even though Damon stayed composed on the phone, Bonnie couldn't help the frustration that was lashing out of her. "Why not?"

_For one thing, you should get some rest tonight. I want you at your full witchy powers. And, go to school. Do the normal thing. I still need you to do that other favor for me._

Bonnie was silent for a moment. She was thinking about what Damon had said. She wasn't sure why, but in spite of herself, she felt some of her guilt ease up. She shook it off. It wasn't like she was looking for Damon's support, but having it did make her feel better. _Bonnie? You there?_

"Yes, I'm here," she said quietly.

_Want me to have Elena call you later?_

"If she's up to it. If not, just have her text me." Bonnie paused before continuing, "What about the coffins?"

_Yeah...the coffins._

She heard Damon trail off. Bonnie assumed his mind was wandering to Stefan and Katherine. Then she remembered what he had told her before she left the boarding house, and she knew his mind was on Klaus and Elena. "Do you think Stefan will tell you where they are?" After more than a couple seconds of silence, Damon finally answered.

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When Damon got back to the boarding house, Stefan had not returned. Katherine, however, was still in the same chair she had sunken into since he had escorted Bonnie to her car. She didn't even notice him as he moved through the living room and towards the stairs. Her eyes seemed incredibly heavy, and she looked like she was falling into a drunk sleep.

Damon crept up the stairs, and made his way to his bedroom. He had a tan overnight bag over his shoulder, and a huge paper bag under his arm. He gently opened the door, and closed it behind him. Damon set both bags on the floor, and walked towards the bed.

Elena also seemed to be in the same spot where Damon had left her. It was almost like time had stopped in the boarding house. She was on her side, laying away from the rest of the room. Damon walked around to the other side of the bed, and found that her eyes were wide open.

She looked up at him, and quietly said, "I heard you on the stairs."

Damon sat on the edge of the bed and gazed down into her face, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "How did you know it was me?" She looked so beautiful laying in his bed. So perfect. It was like Elena belonged in his bed.

"I was just hoping it was."

"I brought you some presents." He got up, and walked back around the bed. When Elena sat up and the covers fell off her, he noticed she was wearing one of his black tee shirts. Damon picked up her tan bag, looking at her with narrowed eyes and an amused expression. "Glad to see your making yourself at home."

Elena looked down at the shirt, then sheepishly back at him. "I hope you don't mind. I just had to get out of _her_ clothes." She spit the word her like it was laced with vervain.

"I don't mind." Damon couldn't help but stare. She looked amazing in his tee shirt, wrapped in his sheets. The only thing that would have made it better, is if he had been laying there with her.

"Damon?" His thoughts must have lingered a little too long, because Elena had to interrupt him. "Is that my bag?"

He immediately snapped out of it. Damon had stopped by her house, and packed her an overnight bag. He handed it to her, and announced, "Fresh clothes, and some things that looked like girlie important stuff."

She put it on her lap and started looking through the items Damon had packed. "Um, Damon?" Elena gave him a look when it looked like half the clothes he had packed were her sexy undergarments. He gave her one of his classic eye movements. Elena just rolled her eyes in response. She didn't smile, but her face became relaxed.

"And don't worry, no one knew I was there. I'm good at sneaking in your window." His eyebrows wiggled, and Elena rolled her eyes again. This time she let a little half-smile touch her lips. "And text Ric. Bonnie said to tell him you're staying over at her house tonight."

"She left?" Elena tried to sound nonchalant. She didn't raise her head, just kept looking through her bag. She couldn't blame Bonnie, but it still hurt that she didn't want to see her like this.

"A couple hours ago. It looks like the only one else in the house is doppel-bitch," Elena couldn't help but give Damon a scolding look, even though bitch sounded about right.

"Where's...?" She couldn't seem to say his name.

"Stefan?" Elena nodded, then reached the bottom of the overnight bag and pulled out her teddy bear. Elena raised her head, along with an eyebrow. Damon just shrugged and smirked. He continued, "I'm assuming he's...actually, I have no idea," he frowned, contemplating something.

Elena let out a long sigh. "So, I'm sleeping over at Bonnie's?"

"And on a school night." Damon gave her a mock disapproval.

"Tomorrow's Monday, that means school."

Damon narrowed his eyes. "You weren't thinking of going, were you?"

"No," she said quickly. She let out another sigh. "So, what's the plan?

"Plan for what?"

Elena snapped, "The plan to get the coffins, impede impending doom...the plan to fix what I did."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Damon spoke with quiet gentleness.

"You don't have to be nice about it. This is my fault."

"Elena," he began to debate, but she quickly cut him off.

"No, Damon! You warned me, and I didn't listen. I never listen." Her voice was becoming high pitched and fast paced. "And look at what happened!"

Damon decided to take the tough love approach. "Elena, take it down a notch. Bonnie is going to go over and talk to Ric and Jeremy in the morning, so we don't have to figure everything out right this second. It will be okay." He emphasized his last few words.

She put her head in her hands, then lifted it to look up at him. "Damon, I don't want them to see me like this."

"Elena..."

"I'm serious, Damon."

"Alright. We can talk about that tomorrow. For now, it's time for your other present."

"What is it?" Elena asked suspiciously.

"Burgers from the Grill."

"Can I even eat that?"

"Sure you can. You had a healthy dose of blood...so come downstairs, and we'll have a bite." He picked up the big brown paper bag. "Then maybe another kind of bite," He said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm not going down there," Elena stated in a matter of fact tone.

Damon's eyebrows crawled up his forehead. "Well, we're not eating food in my bed."

"Why not?"

"On my...600 thread count...Egyptian cotton sheets?" Elena gave him her classic lost kitten eyes that cried out 'please, Damon, for me'. He knew his resolve was no match for that look. "Ok, fine. But you're going to have to leave this room eventually."

"I will," she whispered quietly, and not very convincingly. Damon just glared and mumbled uh-huh.

He sat down with the bag of food on his lap. "You know, people are going to think I've got you tied up in here, or something." After a delayed-reaction, a smirk began to cross his face like he just figured out what he said was clever, sexual innuendo. "I mean, if that's-"

Elena immediately cut him off. "Glad to see you actually packed some normal clothes," she said shoving everything back in the bag, and tossing it on the floor. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Sometime around midnight." Damon started handing her napkins...a lot of napkins. She just frowned at him. "I got to the grill just before they closed the kitchen. Didn't even have to use compulsion," he said proudly, as he started to unpack their food.

"It's a little late for burgers, isn't it?"

"We're creatures of the night...it's never too late." She gave him an odd look at his failed attempt to cheer her up, she had yet to give him a full smile. He sensed her defeated mood. "Elena, relax," he said in one of the most gentle and comforting tones she had ever heard him use, "This isn't permanent."

Elena couldn't think of any words to say, but she gave him another half-smile. She was grateful for him trying to cheer her up, even if it was only working a little bit. She was always grateful for Damon being there for her. Her smile grew a little bit more as she sighed, "I am a little hungry."

"Good." He smiled. Damon pulled out a six pack. "I got this too."

"Beer?"

"Alcohol helps with the cravings. Food does too."

Damon had pulled out what looked like three to-go containers. He put one back in the bag. "Is that for..."

"The human," he said scandalously.

"How is she? I mean, how's she doing?" Elena seemed unsure if she really wanted to ask the question or not.

Damon sprawled out on his side, at the foot of the bed. "I thought we weren't caring about _her_." He spoke his last word with a bit of mocking, as he took out his burger and took a bite.

"I'm not. But...she _does_ have my body."

It looked like Elena's mind was beginning to wander, so he reassured her, "Stefan compelled her to stay put. So she can't leave the house. Your body's safe."

"Oh." She looked surprised, then narrowed her eyes. "Good." Elena looked at Damon who was giving her a confused look. She just looked down and took a bite of her burger. "Hmm..."

"What?"

"This tastes the same."

"How did you think it was going to taste?" Damon was quite amused by her reaction.

"I don't know. Different some how."

"Well...good. You could do with some of 'the same'...some normalcy."

"Normal. That is something I definitely don't feel right now."

"You will." Damon offered her soothing words, and they really seemed to make her feel better. "Then, we'll get you back to _your_ normal."

Elena's mood appeared a bit lighter. She took a deep breath as she spoke in far off voice, "You know, everyone was looking at me like I was some sort of time bomb...ready to go off. It was like they were all waiting for me to snap."

"Like they didn't know what crazy and impulsive thing you would do next?" Damon asked dryly, and she just looked at him. "I have no idea how that feels," he smirked, but Elena could see something hiding in his words. It seemed like quiet indignation. When his face relaxed, she noticed something else. It almost looked like frustration.

Elena was still examining Damon, when she spoke again, "It was like no one understood exactly how I felt." She was only half talking about herself. "Like everyone was judging me...and I really hated that." This time she was completely talking about herself. Elena let her eyes drift a little, pondering what she had just said. Damon furrowed his brows, and just stared at her. She looked back up, and matched his expression. "Is that what's it's like for you?"

Damon kept his eyes narrowed, but let a smirk play across his face. "I thought we were talking about you, not me."

Elena kept her gaze firmly in place. "We can't do both?"

After a moment of staring each other down, Damon finally said, "Why don't we leave the psych analogies for another night, deal?"

Elena let out a little sigh, "Fine." She took another bite of her burger, then another. "Thank you for the burger. It's like I just...needed it." She got a look on her face, "Damon?"

He had a sheepish look. "Nice and juicy, huh?"

"More like nice and bloody."

"They may be a little on the rare side, but I figured we could use a little pick me up."

She rolled her eyes, but took another bite and added, "It is making me feel better." Damon smiled at her.

They had each taken a couple more bites, when Elena smiled. A real, genuine smile. It was the first real smile Damon had seen from her since he got back. Even though he was a bit confused why, Damon was extremely relieved that Elena was smiling. The tightness around his heart began to loosen, and his whole being felt less heavy. "What is it?"

"Nothing. It's just that...well, you know what this reminds me of?"

He had a snarky comment on the tip of his tongue but he suppressed it, to sweetly ask, "What does this remind you of?"

"Georgia," she said simply, stripping away any of trace of cockiness in Damon's demeanor. His eyes were now lit up with the memory of their first road trip together. He gave a little laugh, and continued to smile as she recollected to herself. "Burgers, beer, you kidnapping me, me saving your life."

"I think kidnap is a little over dramatic. Besides, I'm pretty sure I saved you first."

"Yeah, yeah." Then, with a smile that made it's way all the way to her eyes, she said, "You know, I can still unhinge my jaw like a snake."

"Oh can you now?" He raised his eyes seductively, then opened a bottle of beer and handed it to her. "Well, here you go then."

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" He didn't say anything, just wiggled his eyebrows. This time Elena laughed.

Damon and Elena had an uncanny ability to act like friends even when sexual tension was dripping in the air. Most people are not able to hold friendly banter when there are other things that needed to be said.

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Elena was standing in front of the mirror in Damon's beautiful bathroom. She brought some cool water up to her face, then patted it dry with a nearby towel. Elena ran her fingers through her hair, finger combing out a few knots. It was still a bit curly, so she dampened her hands and tried to straighten it out a bit.

They had finished their late night dinner, and Damon had congratulated her on keeping the bed clean. By the end of the meal, she realized she still had 'Katherine hair' and was not entirely happy about it. She stared at her reflection for a moment, then let out a long sigh. How had she gotten herself into this mess?

When she finally turned around she found Damon contently staring at her. He was laying on the bed with his arms folded behind his head. Elena leaned against the doorway to the bathroom, and just stared back. There was something about Damon just lying there, looking at her, that made her heart skip a beat.

With everything that had happened that evening, neither of them had gotten a chance to acknowledge the fact that they had shared a passionate make out session, let alone express what it might mean. She didn't know if it was the feelings she was having being in her new body, or some underlying need to make sense of something that happened that day, but Elena had an overwhelming urge to confront Damon.

She stared down at the floor as she started to speak, still leaning up against the wall. "Damon...about earlier...when we were on the couch." He gave her a little smirk, then let it drop when he saw how serious she seemed. "Did you...?"

Damon sat up, slowly moving his hands down to grip the sheets. He narrowed his eyes, and questioned, "Did I what?" He seemed nervous as to what she might be asking.

Elena pushed herself away from the wall and moved to the edge of the bed. She was now looking up at Damon through her lashes with questioning eyes. "Did you...you liked it, right?"

"Did I _like_ it?" Damon couldn't help but respond with a reaction of disbelief. "Elena...you're kidding, right?"

He wasn't laughing, but she couldn't help but say, "I'm glad you find this entertaining." Elena tore her gaze away. She had obviously become a bit annoyed. "I knew I shouldn't have brought it up."

Damon loosened his grip on the sheets. A cocky, yet incredibly sexy, smile crossed his lips. "How could I not find the fact that you even have to ask me that question..._entertaining_?"

Elena's annoyance began to dissolve. She tried to fight the smile creeping up on her expression. "So," she put one knee up on the bed, "You did like it?"

He could feel his fingers involuntary grip the sheets once again, as Elena pulled her other leg up and knelt on the bed in front of him. "Oh, yeah," he said in a raspy whisper. She now welcomed the coy little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She crawled towards Damon, whose breath had become heavy and straining.

Damon let himself rest against the pillows he had propped up against his headboard as Elena moved closer and closer to him. He had never seen a seductive look on Elena's face. It was like she was hunting him, ready to pounce. She seemed in complete control of the situation. Damon was unsure of how to react.

She crawled even closer. He felt his body tense as she grazed against him. He was surprised when she proceeded to straddle him. Elena lowered her body onto him and settled onto his lap. She inched toward his mouth. Damon's lips slightly parted and his eyes grew heavy, ready to welcome Elena's kiss...but it didn't come.

Starting at his shoulders, she trailed her fingers down his arms. Elena lightly grazed until she had both of Damon's wrists in her grip, holding them snugly. She squeezed tight, and he looked up at her. She had hungriness in her eyes.

In the back of his mind Damon knew this wasn't her, not really. He knew that hunger was her new vampire desires rising to the surface. However, in this moment, Elena was on top of him. He was completely caught up in the hot breath curling past her lips and onto his neck. She brought her lips down to trail fiery kisses along his throat.

Damon was snapped out of it the moment she slammed his wrists into the headboard. He narrowed his eyes, they were no longer heavy. He knew that her vampire instincts had taken over, and Elena's inhibitions had taken a back seat. He started to struggle a bit under her.

"Damon...what am I doing?" Elena asked in a heavy breath...half in confusion, and half in strained ecstasy. She let their hands fall to the bed. Her breathing was heavy and fast. He let his wrists loosely rest in her grip.

"Elena...you," he let his words fall in between shallow breaths, "Maybe you should..."

"No!" She tightened her grip on his wrists again and pushed them back into the headboard. "I don't want to stop," she drawled into the crook of his neck.

Damon used his strength to push her off. Not even a split second later, he had her on back, pressing her into the bed. Elena still held his wrists, but he was now using them to push her hands into the mattress. Her head was nearly hanging off the foot of the bed. Damon eased up a bit when he felt her body relax, and he saw some of the tension leave her eyes.

He spoke gently, but the apprehension in his voice came out in a condescending tone. "You just need to calm down. Slow your thoughts down."

"Stop telling me to calm down," she snapped. With a deep breath, the fire was back in her eyes. Elena used her new vampire strength to overpower Damon as she flipped him over on his back, still with a tight grip on his wrists. Damon was not only worried about Elena, but now he was pissed that she overpowered him.

"Elena!" He yelled at her as if he was scolding a small child. Realization slammed into her eyes. Elena immediately jumped off when she realized what she was doing...letting her body, with all her new vampire instincts, take control.

Damon didn't move. He just laid still for a minute, trying to comprehend the fact that he just willed a very work up Elena off his body. He also needed to regain his composure, and calm parts of his body down.

She sat next to him on the bed and ran both hands through her hair. "What is wrong with me? What am I doing?" she said more to herself than to Damon, but he still answered.

"Nothing is wrong with you." He propped himself up on one elbow. "It's just... well," he was griping with how to tell her about her new vampire cravings.

Elena didn't wait for him to continue before she started ranting. "Yesterday in the car, you could have kissed me. Tonight, I'm the one who..." she trailed off, not knowing exactly how to say it. Damon reached up to gently cup her face, but she wouldn't let him. "I feel so stupid. I just keep throwing myself at you. I thought this was what you wanted. I thought _I_ was what you wanted."

"Elena, look at me." Now he sat up, and roughly grabbed her face. She tried to pull away, but he insisted. "Hey! Look at me!" She gazed into his fiery stare. "I want you!" Damon looked her dead in the eyes, passion pouring out and dripping off his words. "I want you so bad...but not like this."

"Like this?" She was barely able to whisper the words. "You mean like..."

"Elena, no! I just don't want you to regret anything. Elena if we..." She began looking back down. Damon brought her chin up and made her look him in the eyes again, "_When_ we..." He trailed off. She felt her body flush as he pulled her into his lap.

_When_. That one word held so much power. Things were happening between them at lightening speed. Everything he knew and everything she didn't want to admit were crashing into each other. With that one word he let her know that they were real, that they were really going to happen.

His body started to respond to her closeness, and Elena could feel it pressing up against her. She started to sense a burning low in her body. Damon immediately saw she was getting worked up again. "Ah, ah...down tiger," he said as he rolled her off of him.

Elena seemed to shake it off, and now an embarrassed blush rose in her cheeks. "Damon, I..." She held her gaze too low for him to see.

He cut her off, by taking her hand and softly saying, "Elena, I want you to be completely aware of the choices you're making." She still wasn't looking at him, so he continued in a gruff voice, "And I'm sorry...but right now you're kind of like the drunk chick at the party." Now she looked up with a scowl. "You know what I mean."

Her scowl disappeared, and now she just looked exhausted. They were both quiet for a few minutes before Elena spoke. "There's another reason your holding back." She was too embarrassed to ask if it was because of Stefan, and she was too afraid to ask if it was because of Katherine.

Damon still had Elena's hand in his. He brought it up to his lips, and kissed her palm. He smiled at her and said, "Let Bonnie know you're alright. She's worried about you." Damon gave her hand one more kiss, bringing his other hand up to caress her arm. Then, he let go and slid off the bed.

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"Don't worry." Damon offered her one of his classic smirks. "I've grown very accustomed to couches."

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

There was a cheerless luminescence radiating from the only lit fireplace in the Salvatore living room. Next to it, in one of the old-fashioned armchairs, was a doppelganger with straight, shiny hair framing her sleeping face. She let out heavy breaths, as if the body she was in hadn't slept in centuries.

Stefan walked in the front door, letting it slam behind him. The loud noise woke Katherine from her drunken slumber. She was now experiencing a very human headache. She watched as Stefan made his way to the drink cart, eying her up the whole time. He had a furrowed brow firmly in place.

"Katherine," he said, acknowledging her with a questioning tone. Her daggered stare was not lost on him.

"Don't _Katherine_ me." She was now up on her feet and moving towards Stefan, positioning herself next to him. "You used compulsion on me! Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Please calm down." Stefan wasn't really in the mood to have a go with Katherine, and it showed in his tone. His face remained tight when she continued to rant.

"If you think I am not going to stay here like a prisoner in your little boarding house, then you have another thing coming!"

"Oh, really? And what exactly are you going to do about it?" After a moment, he let his face relax. "Look...at least you can keep an eye on things here." He said a little more gently.

Stefan seemed to be forgetting that they were supposed to be on the same side. It was hard to break the habit of treating her like the enemy, and Katherine hadn't been the enemy since she was their uninvited house guest before she became Klaus' captive house guest. Stefan's old habits died hard.

"Like things could get any more screwed up," she scowled. Stefan furrowed his brow again. "What did you do now?" Katherine became exasperated at the return of his foreboding expression. "Was it one of..." Stefan slowly put a finger over his lips in a silent 'shh' gesture. Then he tapped his ear and looked towards the staircase. Katherine's eyes shot over just in time to see Damon strolling down the stairs.

"Oh don't stop your cryptic little conversation on account of me. Was it one of the whats? Coffins?"

Katherine seemed annoyed that she had almost said too much about something. She held his stare while Stefan averted Damon's eyes.

Damon made his way the drink cart next to Stefan. He took the nearly full tumbler out of his brother's hand, and downed it's amber alcohol. "So, where have you been, brother?"

Stefan didn't even look up. He just turned another glass over, and poured another drink. Completely ignoring Damon, Stefan turned to Katherine. He looked her straight in the eyes as he brought the glass to his lips. His back was to his brother as he started to talk to Katherine.

"Everything's fine. We'll talk about it later" Stefan's tone was light, as if they he was discussing the weather.

Katherine glanced over Stefan's shoulder to see Damon with something that looked like a snarl on his face. When he spoke, his tone was void of any cocky banter. Instead it was impatient and demanding. He grabbed Stefan roughly by the arm, and flung him around. "Where are the coffins, Stefan?"

Seemingly unfazed by Damon's violence, he looked him square in the eye and calmly said, "Why would I tell you? You'll just give them back to Klaus, and I can't let you do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I want revenge! Klaus has to suffer." His voice was teetering between rashness and livid recklessness.

"Oh? And how do you plan on accomplishing that?"

Stefan took a step back, and took a deep breath before he continued. "Klaus' family is his weakness. I plan to use it against him."

"How? You ruined the one chance we had to destroy him." Now Damon's voice was edging toward hopeless outrage.

"I can't believe that. There's another way."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because there has to be!" There was desperation in his voice. Desperation that went beyond revenge. It was something deeper. Stefan was loosing his cool. His humanity had obviously started to creep back up on him. Was he letting it in? _Had_ he been letting it?

Damon eyed him up. He let a thought enter his mind that must have showed on his face, because the brothers seemed to share a subconscious realization. Damon immediately shook it off. He didn't want to admit what Stefan's desperation might really mean, or _who_ it might mean. After a moment, Damon spoke again.

"So...revenge, huh? Let me help you then."

Stefan looked at him suspiciously, "No thanks," and he turned to walk away.

"Stefan-"

He turned around and cut Damon off, "I don't need your help."

"Oh really? You think you have what it takes to take on Klaus...by yourself? Don't forget, your little sidekick is sort of out of commission."

Stefan looked like he was clenching his jaw. "You want in?"

"You know I'm better at being bad." Damon felt hopeful that Stefan would agree to an alliance, but instead Stefan started to shake his head.

"Nah. If I tell you where the coffins are, you'll just run off and tell Elena." Damon just stared at his brother. He was trying to get a good lie together, but Stefan was too quick for him. "When did you become such a pussy?" Damon narrowed his eyes, but Stefan just gave a dry laugh and walked away.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

"Get out of my way, Katherine."

Katherine had positioned herself between Damon and the stairs, preventing him from following Stefan. "I will, but first I want to know what that little witch of yours is doing to fix your mess." She had her hands firmly placed on Damon's chest, as if she would be able to hold him back with her human body's strength. "I guess Stefan and I didn't get back in time."

Damon took a step back, letting her hands fall in front of her. "Why did you come back? After double-crossing Klaus, then helping Stefan to double-cross us...I would think Mystic Falls would be the last place you'd show up."

"Damon, I'm tired of running. I want the same things you want...and Stefan wants the same things we want."

"I highly doubt we want the same things, Katherine."

"That's where your wrong." She stepped forward, closing the space Damon had created. "I think we do want the same things." In spite of himself, Damon was getting caught up in her closeness. She had Elena's scent all over her, staring at him with big doe eyes. Yet, her expression was purely Katherine.

He couldn't help but get wrapped up in the dangerous temptation that was the beating heart beneath Elena's clothes. Damon heard it speed up as she inched closer to him. He could sense the blood rushing through her body, and her obvious reaction to being close to him. It was like her body was tormenting him, causing his head to swim with dangerous thoughts. "Katherine, what the hell is your deal?"

"What do you mean?" She was not happy with the tone he was using, and becoming quite frustrated that she could not better control her emotions.

"You come back here...show up with Stefan. And you convinced him to steal Klaus' family? Katherine, you could have been finally been rid of Klaus...for good. Everyone could have been rid of him. Why did you stop me? Why didn't you just let the plan happen?"

"And what? Sacrifice your life?" She was angry now...angry and hurt. Tears started to well up in the corners of her eyes.

Damon seemed immune, and continued with his own anger, "As I seem to remember, you don't care if I live or die. I seem to remember you choosing Stefan."

"Just because I choose Stefan first, doesn't mean I choose you last."

Damon stopped, caught dead in her last few words. _Stefan didn't love me enough to stay. He choose me last. _His eyes immediately strayed from Katherine, and his thoughts went straight to Elena. _Why wasn't I enough? _Damon's unresolved feelings suddenly, and unexpectedly, flew to the the back of his mind. All he could think about was Elena.

The tears that were threatening to fall halted immediately when Katherine realized that she had lost Damon's attention. She was no longer hurt. Now, she was just angry. "Damon!"

He looked back at her, then tried to walk around her. She got in front of him again, this time grabbing his arm. Katherine had a look of ferociousness in her eyes, but it started to disappear when she tried to grip Damon's arm tighter. Katherine had obviously forgotten that she no longer had more than 350 years of vampire strength over him.

Damon looked down at her hand, then smiled an evil little smirk. He looked back into her eyes and gave her a cold, uncaring stare as he roughly pushed past her.

Katherine stood frozen in place. She hadn't felt as weak, or as powerless, as she now felt in longer then she cared to remember. Katherine had spent over half a century as a vampire, and now she was subject to humanity that she couldn't turn off, dulled human senses, and she was now the weakest being in a house with three vampires. She felt useless.

Then she remembered that she was in Elena's body. Elena's human body...pumping with precious human blood. A devious little kitten smile crossed her face. She watched as Damon climbed the stairs, never looking back at her once. Katherine's sick little smile only grew. She was finally starting to feel a little more like herself.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

The bedroom next to Damon's was probably the smallest room in the boarding house, but it had the second best bathroom. The first was Damon's. Instead of a spacious shower, it had an old-fashioned, claw-foot tub. It had been the inspiration for Damon to add a bathtub to his bathroom.

Damon had his hand on the doorknob, when he he heard soft footsteps behind him. He froze long enough for Katherine to approach him and lean the weight of her body against the door.

Damon instinctively rolled his eyes. Katherine picked through the clothes in Damon's arms.

"Aw...have you been kicked out of your own room?" Damon glared at her and pulled on the door, but she kept her body pressed against it. "You know," she let her eyes flutter down to Damon's body, before firing them straight in to his baby blues, "Your welcome to share my room."

Damon couldn't help the expression that came over his face. Katherine looked pleased, so she shifted away from the door and smiled. Damon once again glared at her, and opened the door. Before he went in, he looked back at her, "What do you mean, your room?"

She pointed to the door at the end of the hallway, then proceeded to saunter off towards it. Katherine turned around to see Damon, unconsciously, staring after her. "I'll be right next door, Damon." She laughed as he gave her one last glare, before she closed the door behind her.

Instead of entering the bedroom, he angrily tossed his clothes on the bed and walked towards the stairs...hellbent on one more confrontation with his baby brother.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Damon approached the open door of Stefan's bedroom. He couldn't help but lose his composure when he saw what Stefan was up to. He was journaling.

"What the hell are you doing?" A mixture of hope, and anxiety, rose inside him. How long had it been since he had seen Stefan brood over one of his personal publications?

Damon watched his brother have no reaction to his presence. Any traces of vulnerabilities were quickly fading. Feeling a little petty, and still overly ticked off at his brother, he started to move closer to the middle of the room. In the process, he 'accidentally' kicked over a pile of old books. "Oops," he said with fake remorse.

"You mind?"

"Not really," he mimicked in the same dry tone. "Where have you been all night anyway?"

"Hunting," Stefan replied flatly, without looking up.

"Does this mean you're back on your diet of cute little forest creatures?" He teased with a bit of smugness. Stefan just smirked, still not looking up.

"Not exactly." Katherine emerged from the doorway in a slinky black satin robe.

Damon frowned at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Stefan interjected before Katherine could answer, "Nothing." This time he looked up at his brother. "What do you want?"

"Damon, I want to thank you for keeping my room the way I left it." Katherine had moved around and in front of Damon. She began to lean against Stefan's desk, seeming quite pleased to once again be capturing the center of attention. "I'm especially pleased that you didn't toss out any my black lacy things...or was that your idea, Stefan?" She turned her head to look at Stefan.

He gave her a quick furrowed brow, before he looked at his brother. "Damon, want do you want?"

"What do you think..._Stefan_?"

"The coffins?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.

"The coffins." Damon repeated, extremely annoyed.

Stefan seemed to be enjoying getting under Damon's skin. "Well, you're not getting the coffins."

"Can we stop talking about the coffins, and get to the bigger problem?" Katherine said after hoisting herself up to sit on the desk. She crossed her legs, letting the black robe fall open a bit. She stared at Damon, tilting her head to one side. "How did this happen anyway?"

His face fell as he looked between Katherine and Stefan. They were both now staring at him. Damon took a deep breath. "It was a protection spell for Elena." Stefan was trying to hide a worried look on his face, while Katherine was making no attempts to hide the annoyance on hers. "Bonnie's at home working on it now," he lied.

Katherine hopped off the desk. "Good," she chirped. "In the meantime," she approached Damon and started running her fingertips over his chest, "My offer still stands." Damon was about to shoot Stefan a what-the-hell look, when he noticed a bit of jealously in his brother's eyes. It only intensified when Katherine leaned up to whisper in Damon's ear. "If you need a bed to share...mine's available."

Even though he was slightly amused at his brother's reaction, Damon abrasively pushed Katherine away. She stumbled back a bit, allowing a mischievous little smirk to escape her lips, with a giggle to match.

Stefan came from around his desk to stand in front of her. "Damon, you should probably calm down a bit. Your gonna have to handle her with care." Katherine looked a little smug at his words, but her features crashed into something completely opposite with what Stefan said next. "She's fragile, and we need to protect Elena's body."

Stefan felt a futile force come from behind him. He barely moved an inch, but was shocked all the same. Katherine had pushed him. He turned around to find hot tears streaming down her face. The Salvatore's were just as wonder-struck to see her cry again as they were earlier that evening.

Katherine walked by Stefan, and aggressively pushed passed Damon. They both watched as she stormed out of the room. Damon heard the sound of Stefan's quiet, deadpanned voice over his shoulder. "It would be too much to ask you to stay out of things, wouldn't it?"

Damon didn't even turn around. "Yes, it would."

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Elena felt the cool tile underneath her feet. She looked into the bathroom mirror, and took a deep breath. Her body felt tired, and she ached all over. She took another heavy breath, running her fingers through her hair. Elena turned around to head into her bedroom.

She walked a few feet before clutching the object hanging around her neck. It was her necklace. She hadn't lost it. Elena ran her fingers over the familiar ridges and felt a rush of confusion. But as quickly as the feeling came, was as quickly as she dismissed it.

Elena continued across the room to close her window. Right before she did, Elena let the cool, crisp breeze bath her face and tangle through her hair. She closed her eyes, enjoying the refreshing night air.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Damon's bedroom. She sat up in his bed, wrapped in his sheets and drowning in his scent. Elena took a deep breath and shut her eyes tight. She couldn't stop a voice from flooding into her thoughts. She couldn't place the voice, but the words were clear.

_I just have to say something. I just need to say it once. You just need to hear it._

Elena couldn't tell if it was a dream or a memory, but the words just kept repeating themselves. It was like a song you get stuck in your head. Her bedroom, her bathroom, and her necklace started to disappear from her mind, but those words kept repeating.

_I just have to say something. I just need to say it once. You just need to hear it._

When the final image of her open window started to fade, it was replaced by another. It was simple. Elena didn't understand it, yet she felt it as strongly as she ever felt anything.

As she laid her head back down on the pillow, all she could see was eyes looking into hers. Bright eyes, and a tear falling down.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

**Final A/N; This is why I love fan fic... Stefan could never call Damon a pussy on the show (and not that he would or wouldn't... but he couldn't) That's also why I love writing M-rated... don't really have to censor the characters... because I really do think they would swear in certain situations (like Bill, Sookie, and Eric... although I'll be without TVD I will get my other vamps back... anyone else a trubie?)**

**Have to add... when Elena asked what time it was, I originally had Damon say "a little after ten" but couldn't resist adding a little Airborne Toxic Event, since their music has made multiple appearances (like, at least five) in the show... Happiness Is Overrated, you know... "And speaking of...little Miss Katherine..."**

**Anyway, the best way to show writers you like their story is to review (it also gets them to update faster, lol) So, even if it's just a quick "Awesome" or "Loved it! Update soon!"... we appreciate it :)**

**Thanks again for reading, and Happy Reviewing!**


	10. Chapter 10: A New Day, A New Dawn

"_Disclaimer: 1) a renunciation of any claim to or connection with; 2) a disavowal; 3) a statement made to save one's own ass" ~Kevin Smith, Dogma_

_In other words, we all know we don't anything TVD, we all wish we did...down to every last snarky comment (insert eye-thing and sexy smirk here)_

**A/N; Twisted Switch is back... I know, I know... it's been way too long between updates, so I just want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone still reading, and especially reviewing! Won't bore or insult you with excuses, simply said, "Life got in the way." (Sister Hazel song)**

**Consolation? Besides this being a pretty long chapter (have I won you back yet?) I do have almost all of chapter 11 written... plus, chapters 12, 13 and 14 are already mapped out, and even titled, with a bunch of scenes already done :)**

**Btw; if you're an author leaving a review, mention your story (or if you're a reader obsessed with one) I love new leads on stories to read. I've just read some of JWAB's (they...are...AWE...SOME) and I'm loving "Insanity is Beautiful"**

**Check out my Fav page :)**

**Now, mini-recap time! (or... _previously on the vampire diaries' fan fiction Twisted Switch_)**

**Bonnie has a dream about Klaus; Is she close to figuring out where the coffins are hidden?**

**Damon brings Elena burgers and beer; Ah...Georgia.**

**Elena 'attacks' Damon; Do you think he should have given in? Why is he really holding back?**

**After Damon walks in on Stefan and Katherine and their 'cryptic little conversation', he fights with Stefan over the coffins; Stefan's switch is definitely fried, but does he want more than revenge?**

**Katherine's body (well, Elena's body) responds to being close to Damon; How confusing do you think that was for Damon?**

**Damon finds Stefan journaling (his switch really is fried)...but after some flirting and a confrontation, Katherine leaves angry and crying; Is anyone feeling sorry for her yet?**

**Elena has a dream; How long will it take her to remember Damon's compulsion?**

_**Katherine walked by Stefan, and aggressively pushed passed Damon. They both watched as she stormed out of the room. Damon heard the sound of Stefan's quiet, deadpanned voice over his shoulder. "It would be too much to ask you to stay out of things, wouldn't it?"**_

_**Damon didn't even turn around. "Yes, it would."**_

**Happy Reading :)**

Twisted Switch

_Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet? ~L.M. Montgomery_

_Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping... waiting... and though unwanted... unbidden... it will stir... open its jaws and howl. ~Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer_

Chapter Ten: A New Day, A New Dawn

Elena couldn't stop all the new sensations pulsing through her body. Standing in sunlight that wasn't warm, she wrapped her arms around herself. Elena hugged Damon's shirt closer to her skin.

Before crawling back into bed the night before, she had found another one of Damon's shirts hanging on a hook in the bathroom. She had pulled off his black tee shirt, and opted for the button down silk shirt. This one...Damon had already worn.

When did she start wanting that? Wanting him? In any other situation it would've felt like heaven, but every time Elena thought about her new desires another unsettling feeling crept up on her. She pushed it out of her mind, thought back to Damon, and smiled. Although, her smile didn't last.

There was something nagging her, something else pulling at her. Residual feelings from somewhere still lurked. It was something unresolved, something right under the surface...even though Elena couldn't place it.

Elena felt hollow and numb, yet filled with all these strange emotions that kept wanting to swirl together. It was like nothing and everything all at once. Like all the things she felt were now attached to one another. She couldn't separate her anticipation from her guilt. Her lust was linked with her rage. She felt hope laced with spite, and her contentment was drowning in self-reproach.

Every thought that entered her mind was translated to her body. Elena couldn't seem to separate what she was feeling in her head, from what she was feeling throughout her body. It was like her skin was a still quiet lake, but right underneath the surface there was a rippling river.

Even though she heard the footsteps and heard the door open, then close, she didn't turn around right away. She knew it was him. She knew it was Damon, and couldn't help but smile to herself.

When he didn't speak, she turned around to see Damon staring at her with an open jaw. He had a dazzled look on his face, and was holding a coffee mug in each hand.

The sight in front of him took him back. She was wearing his shirt...a different shirt...even though he had brought her a bag of goodies. Albeit nearly half the bag was full of lacy things out of his fantasies, Damon was sure he had packed her some suitable sleep wear. He tried to shake it off, and not to read to much into it.

"Brought you coffee," he said crossing the room towards her. He smirked, "It helps keep everything flowing all warm and toasty-like." Damon held out the coffee for her to take. "It's black. That ok?" Elena nodded her head and reached for the mug, but he pulled it away before she could take it. "I can make breakfast too...if you come downstairs."

She went for the cup of coffee again. "I'm not hungry."

"Mm-hm, sure," Damon mumbled as he narrowed his eyes, but let Elena have the mug anyway.

Damon was right. The heat felt nice. She took another another sip and let the hot liquid slide down her throat. Elena hadn't realized that she had her eyes closed, until she opened them and found Damon looking at her with an odd smile on his face. She gave him a half smile. "Thanks."

"How is it?"

"Tastes the same."

"Good."

"Your smells better though." Elena narrowed her eyes. "Why does it smell so good?"

Damon got a sheepish look, but just held out his cup for her to take. "Here." He took hers, and slowly backed up to sit on the bed in front of her.

Elena gripped Damon's coffee with both hands and took a sip, then a big gulp. It tasted just as good as it smelled. Elena lowered the cup and looked up at him with an almost horrified, yet satisfied, look on her face. "Blood," was all she said.

"I put it in my coffee when I need a boost. Yesterday was..."

She looked at him with a guilty expression and interjected, "Horrible."

"Just a little draining."

Elena handed him back his cup, but Damon pushed it back to her. "You drink that one." He tried to let his smile be warming, but worry got the better of him.

She came over to sit next to Damon on the bed. Elena wasn't exactly sure when she became so comfortable with Damon, but here she was in her classic shortie sleep shorts and nothing else but his shirt. Truth be told, she was a bit embarrassed when Damon caught her in it, but the expression on his face had erased all of that.

"Damon, this blood..." Elena trailed off, as he glanced over at her with an uncomfortable look on his face. "It's not...human...is it?"

He sounded like he had done something wrong, "No."

"Damon?" Elena felt, and sounded, a little anxious by the way Damon was acting.

"It's pig's blood," he whispered.

Elena could help but let a little laugh escape as she gasped, "Pig's blood?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well...unlike human blood, you don't have to steal it. You can just buy it at the butchers." Elena was biting her lip to keep her laugh stifled, but her breasts were starting to heave. Damon couldn't keep his eyes off them, even though he was a bit annoyed. He sighed, "Look, it's a nice pick me up in the morning, ok?"

"You drink animal blood." She was now laughing.

"I drink human blood!" He snapped like he was offended.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your dirty little secret." All he did was supply her with a fake laugh and rolled his eyes again. Elena just smiled.

They sat quietly for a few moments before Damon asked, "Did you ever get in touch with Bonnie last night?"

"Yes." She eyed him up suspiciously. "You and her seem to be getting along."

"Diplomacy." Elena started to give him a little smile. He glared at her, and continued. "Don't get you're hopes up. We still don't like each other. She still doesn't forgive me, because I'm still not sorry."

"Keep telling yourself that," she whispered and patted his knee.

Ignoring her, Damon got off the bed and took a long drink of coffee as he walked towards his bathroom. "Bath or shower?"

"Huh?" She said a bit startled and, if Elena had to admit, anxiously. Whether it was for excitement or fear, she didn't know. "You mean for me?"

"Of course for you."

"What about you? What are you...where are you...?"

"Elena, it's a boarding house. I think I can find an extra bathroom." He looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. "Unless."

"Unless what?" There was a little too much nervous energy in her voice.

Damon smiled at the crack in her voice. He was enjoying the emotion he was able to pull out of her. "Unless you're ready to vacate my room. Get your mind out of the gutter." She looked at him almost with surprise, then glared. Damon smirked, laughing to himself. "How about a bath?"

"That actually sounds perfect."

Elena sat on the bed watching him pull out towels, adjust the water, and add what looked like some kind of bath salt. As much as his over protective nature aggravated her some time, Elena had to admit having Damon dote on her was nice. She couldn't help but feel that he liked taking care of people. That was another thing they had in common, deep down, they both wanted to feel needed.

He came out of the bathroom. "It's a little hot, but by the time I get more coffee...it should be just right."

"Thank you," she smiled. Elena scooted to the end of the bed.

"No problem," Damon said as he nonchalantly smirked.

Elena let her smile drop. "No, really...thank you." She was so serious and so sincere. She hoped her eyes were portraying just how grateful she was feeling towards him.

Damon didn't answer right away, he just looked at her for a minute. Morning hair, another one of his shirts loosely draped over her perfect body, and those big brown eyes pouring into his. He let a genuine smile escape his lips, then softly said, "Your welcome."

They were simple words, but she liked how they sounded. Damon brought his hand up to cradle the side of Elena's face. She brought her hand up to his, and closed her eyes. Lost in a perfect moment...but after a minute she opened them again.

Damon had an unreadable expression on his face. He let his eyes drop, along with his hand. "I'll be right back with coffee, ok?"

Elena gave him a weak smile and nodded. She watched him walk out, then she let herself fall back onto the bed, a huge sigh escaping from her.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Damon came bounding into the kitchen with the two empty coffee mugs, and found Katherine sitting on the counter. She was in her black robe, legs crossed, and bouncy her foot merrily. He froze with a look of defeat.

"Good morning, Damon," she said brightly. It was unnerving how much she sounded like Elena in that moment. Katherine reminded him of how sunny she was 145 years ago.

"What? No more water works?" He scoffed as he made his way to the coffee pot next to her.

Katherine glared at him. "Actually," she started to speak in a much more Katherine tone. She uncrossed her legs, letting them dangle. Damon thought he felt her foot brush his knee, but ignored it. "I found my human switch."

Damon tore his eyes away from the coffee he was pouring to scowl at her. "Humans can't just turn it all off. They don't have switches."

She set her mug down next to her, and used both hands to move herself off the counter so she could stand in front of him. "Silly Damon," Katherine said brushing her fingertips lightly against his cheek. He scowled harder and winced. "Of course they can. It's just a thousand times harder to find." Katherine laughed at his reaction to her. "But, I do have 500 years practice of keeping my emotions at bay." She gave him one more sickeningly sweet smile that was classic Katherine before turning to leave. "Being human might be harder, but it's doable."

When Katherine finally left the kitchen, he was relieved. Mostly because Elena's scent was still lingering on Katherine's body. Damon rolled his eyes, let out a huge sigh, and made his way to the fridge for his secret stash of special blood. He had just set it on the counter when he heard a suspicious commotion from his bedroom. Without listening further, he used his vamp speed to get him upstairs.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

It hadn't been very long when there was a soft tap at the door. Elena was back at the window, still in Damon's shirt. "That was fast." She turned around in time to see a smile drop from Stefan's face.

For a split second of a moment, before his smile dropped, Elena almost forgot where they were and the situation they were in. It was almost like being transported back to a time when Stefan was hers, and he was Elena's beacon of rescue. But as fast as this thought flashed into her mind, it was ripped out by the sneer that crossed his lips. "Nice shirt."

"Stefan." She had lost some of her anger, and had regained some of her usual concern. Elena sounded more like herself, and in the back of his mind, Stefan saw that hope he was desperately clinging to. Although, he couldn't seem to push it forward and show her.

He had spent all night re-reading some of his old journals. In particular, the ones he was writing in when he first met Elena. Stefan had also listened all night to see if Damon would go back into Elena's room. He had only briefly fallen asleep in the early morning hours. After all that, he had woken up a little bit delusional.

Stefan noticed that she was definitely a lot calmer than the night before, and for some reason this made him angry. "So, whatever Damon did must have done the trick."

Elena did not like the way he said that. She was feeling a bit bad for him, and was moving towards the middle of the room. Elena could sense his bitterness. She felt her anger start to escalate a bit. "Stefan, nothing..."

She was speaking slowly, so he fiercely cut her off. "I know nothing happened." Stefan inched closer to her. When he spoke, his voice was low and raspy. "I would have heard you. I don't remember you being the quiet type."

A loud crack echoed in Stefan's ears as Elena brought her hand across his face. A little smile crossed his face, like she had just tenderly caressed it. This only infuriated Elena further. "You're one to talk! You've been with _her_!"

"Elena, nothing happened." Suddenly Stefan was sincere and reassuring, just the way he used to be. Elena was taken back, but her anger never wavered. She began to pace.

"You left with her, Stefan! All this time..."

"Elena, it didn't mean anything."

She stopped dead in her tracks. Stefan used the opportunity to grip both her arms in a comforting movement. Elena just looked him cold in the eyes. "Well which is it Stefan? Did nothing happen, or it didn't mean anything?"

Stefan loosened his grip, and let his arms drop. "Elena, it's not what you think."

"Was it her all along? I mean, when exactly did you decide you were over her anyway? What changed for you?"

"Elena, it's us! It's always been us."

"Don't say that! You don't get to say that!"

"Aren't you the one who wanted me to feel something? Anything? You wanted me to break through. You wanted me to come back to you. Well I'm back. I'm here now." He was confusing her, using her own words against her.

"Stop it." She was timidly whispering, but he was ignoring her.

Through Stefan's entire depraved confession, he had been trying to get closer to her and she had been backing away. Now Elena felt her back against the wall, and Stefan's strong hands back on her, roughly grasping her upper arms. His face was so familiar, but his voice was demanding and sounded dangerously desperate.

"I know there's something left between us. We're not over. Look at you. You can't argue that."

"Stop saying that!" She tried to push his hands off her arms, but he only gripped them tighter.

Stefan's body remained tense and reckless, but with each syllable passing through his lips his words became more vulnerable and his eyes softer. "Elena...I need you."

With those words Elena felt a low rumble of emotion deep inside her. It did not make her heart melt, it only outraged her. "What do you need me for when you have your revenge?" She spat out.

Sensing her fury, all of Stefan's softness disappeared, and his sneer from earlier was back. He suddenly let go of her arms and slammed both of his hands on the wall in back of Elena, effectively caging her in.

When he spoke his tone was more harsh, and even more demanding. Things were quickly getting out of control. "Elena, you know it's me and you! It always has been! It always will be!" He moved his hands to her shoulders, pushing her back against the wall. "Stop denying it!"

This time Elena didn't back down. She struggled against him. "Get off me."

"No!"

"Get off me Stefan!"

A cocky smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. He leaned in and whispered closely in her ear. "I said no!"

Instead of shuttering from fear, or from excitement, she just calmly smiled. "You know, you're forgetting one thing."

"Oh, yeah?" He pulled away from her neck to look her in the eyes. "What's that?"

Elena leaned a little closer. "This is Katherine's body." His eyes grew wide as she pushed him off her and flung him across the room. "I'm stronger," she said watching him fly into the opposite bedroom wall.

Their eyes stayed locked on each other. Even when they heard Damon's voice yell. "What the hell is going on?"

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Damon stood a few feet inside the room, trying to comprehend what was going on in front of him. The second he had opened the door, he had seen Elena up against the wall with Stefan's hands on her shoulders. Damon saw her leaning into him, then watched as she flew him across the room. The previous night's events were flying through his mind, with one difference.

He couldn't place it, but there was something hanging in the air between them. He watched Stefan break Elena's stare, and look towards him. Damon felt his heart drop when Elena didn't take her eyes off Stefan.

"Damon," he said getting up off the floor, "She's out of control."

With that, Elena lost it. She didn't speak, but started to cross the room to Stefan with a fiery craze in her eyes. Damon quickly stepped in front of her.

"Stay out of this Damon!" Elena yelled, trying to push past him.

"Elena, look at me!" She finally looked him in the eyes. "What the hell happened in here?"

Damon heard Stefan's voice next to him. "That's really none of your business." He moved away from Elena to stand in front of his brother. Both wearing cocky grins, they stood their ground.

"Get out!" Their faces fell as they whipped their heads towards Elena to see which one of them she was talking about. "Both of you!" Elena stormed into the bathroom. Stefan was the first to leave the room. Damon lingered for only a moment before following his brother in utter shock.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

Bonnie was standing at Elena's front door, getting ready to knock. Inside she heard Alaric's voice call to Jeremy to hurry up. Hearing his name, Jeremy's name, only sent more fearful tendrils of growing nerves up her unsteady legs. No matter what she did, Bonnie couldn't shake her guilty conscience.

When she finally brought her knuckles against the door, Alaric answered holding a cup of coffee and wearing a haggard expression. His surprise quickly faded to confusion as he began to speak. "Bonnie. I though Elena..." His voice turned to worry as he trailed off.

She was so nervous that she just blurted out, "We have to talk." Bonnie instantly regretted it when she saw his panic start to set in. Even quicker, she spoke, "No, no she's not...she's..." Bonnie trailed off, grappling with the word okay. "Elena's safe."

Alaric's anxiety seemed to ease up, but he still had a worried look firmly in place. "What happened? Where is she?"

"Ric, she's fine. She's with Damon."

He just frowned. "I'm not really sure how being with Damon makes her fine."

Bonnie frowned back at him. Since Alaric was obviously not officially inviting her in, she stepped inside. "He's handling things."

"Is this about the spell?" Bonnie's frown deepened, and Alaric's confusion returned. "Did you find a locator spell to find Stefan?"

"About that," she said, closing the door behind her, "We don't really need it anymore."

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Alaric opened his mouth for the second time in less than a minute, willing words to come out, but he had nothing left to say. Bonnie's overwhelming anxiety had disappeared a bit at the confused shock that had seemed to consume her teacher and ex-boyfriend. Now, she just sat at their kitchen table with them, an odd look gracing her face. The conversation that just happened kept replaying in Bonnie's mind. It was the only thing that kept her from breaking the silence hanging in the air.

Standing in the hallway, she had asked where Jeremy was. Alaric told her he was upstairs, and implored her to tell him what was going on. All Bonnie said was, "Please, Ric...where's Jeremy? I don't really want to have to tell this twice."

She didn't know, but Jeremy had been listening at the top of the stairs. He was secretly hoping that Bonnie had come to tell them that Damon had listened to him and taken his sister far, far away. He came downstairs when he heard his name.

As soon as she saw him, the anguish in her body grew. What if he hated her for this? She still couldn't get over what he did, but she was realizing how much she still wanted to be with him.

Bonnie had waited for Alaric to pour her a cup of coffee before sitting down at the kitchen table.

Jeremy had been leaning against the island when she started to explain exactly what happened. When he saw how upset she looked, Jeremy came to sit at the head of the table, between her and Alaric.

She had ended with, "I am so, so sorry."

Bonnie couldn't help but feel a little impatient as Alaric closed his mouth again. Jeremy and Alaric seemed to be daring each other to talk first after the very long silence. Bonnie was relieved when Alaric opened his mouth and actually spoke without closing it again.

He gave Jeremy a sideways glance and said, "We better get going. We'll all be late." He turned to Bonnie. "I'm going to tell the school that Elena is sick and we're not sure what it is."

Bonnie nodded, but Jeremy just looked at him bewildered. His voice was annoyed when he spoke. "We're not actually going to school? Are we?"

"Of course we are." Alaric knew it was a stupid question, but he asked it anyway. "Where else would we go?"

"To go see Elena!"

Alaric looked at Jeremy, then to Bonnie. She furrowed her brows and placed her hand on Jeremy's arm. "Jeremy, I think Elena's just a little overwhelmed. She's just not really ready to see anyone right now."

"But she can see _Damon_?" he pulled his arm away, and stood up from the table.

Alaric's gaze once again left Jeremy to look at Bonnie. "Jeremy's right. Maybe Elena should just come home."

"But Damon can protect her." She protested.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "She's in Katherine's body. How much more protection does she need?"

Bonnie shot him a look of determination, and confidently said, "Staying at the boarding house is best for Elena right now." She turned to look at Alaric, "If Klaus finds out about all this, who knows what he'll do. Until Stefan gives Klaus those coffins, Elena's in danger."

"Elena's always in danger." Jeremy said under his breath.

Bonnie was narrowing her eyes at Jeremy, but her stare was stolen by Alaric when he quietly asked, "Damon told you, didn't he?"

Jeremy looked between their intense gaze. "Told her what?"

"What Damon is so afraid of. Bonnie, what did he tell you?"

Bonnie's look intensified. "It's really not worth repeating."

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"What about the coffins?"

_Yeah...the coffins._

She heard Damon trail off. Bonnie assumed his mind was wandering to Stefan and Katherine. Then she remembered what he had told her before she left the boarding house, and she knew his mind was on Klaus and Elena. _It doesn't matter how bruised or broken she is, inside or out. _"Do you think Stefan will tell you where they are?" After more than a couple seconds of silence, Damon finally answered.

_No. But no matter what, I'm going to get it out of him._

"How?"

_I don't know. _Bonnie heard him sigh on the other end. _I'm not sure what's going on in his head, but I will find out why he took them...and where they are._

"Why he took them?" Bonnie repeated his words in a confused tone. "He said he wanted revenge."

_I don't buy it, especially since Katherine's involved. They're up to something._

"Damon, please don't get drawn into her craziness. Elena needs you."

_I don't plan to. _He cut her off roughly, then continued in a somber tone that Bonnie had never heard before. _Do__n't worry. Elena is always the first thing on my mind. _

Bonnie felt herself smile. It was strange to actually hear Damon say those words...to her. She didn't let herself get too distracted before she spoke again. "What do you think Klaus will do if he finds out?"

_We can't let that happen!_

"We won't."

_Bonnie, he's using me to get to Stefan. _Damon spoke slowly and carefully. _And he knows the best way to get though to me..._

"Is Elena." Bonnie finished his sentence plainly. Damon was silent on the other end, so Bonnie repeated her last question. "What do you think he'd do?"

_Klaus took revenge on Katherine by killing her whole family, and let's not forget his admiration for a certain ripper vampire's tricks. Who knows what he'd do. Klaus won't kill Elena though. He knows that he'll never get those coffins back if he does. But... _He never did finish his thought.

"Damon, when you said Klaus would destroy her...leave her broken...did you mean he would," Bonnie had to take a deep breath before continuing, but she couldn't choke out the words. Before she could say anything else, Damon quickly got off the phone.

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Alaric had left Bonnie and Jeremy on the porch. They had waited until his car was pulling away before they had started fighting. "Jeremy, I told you, she doesn't want to see you." Jeremy looked hurt by her comment, so Bonnie tried to soften her voice. "That's not what I meant. She just...she doesn't really want you to see her the way she is."

"Well, I don't really care! I want to see her."

"Jeremy..."

He softened his voice to match hers. "Bonnie, she's my sister. She's one of the only things I have left." He looked longingly at her, and she was starting to forget the way Jeremy had hurt her.

"You know that's not true."

"It is," he whispered. With his confession, Jeremy had been inching closer to her. He looked her deep in the eyes, then abruptly stumbled back. Bonnie knitted her eyebrows in confusion.

Jeremy had his back to her, running both his hands through his hair. She heard him take a deep breath in, then let out an angry puff. Bonnie jumped when he unexpectedly kicked the side of the house. All her anxiety rushed back into her with the sound of Jeremy's foot coming in contact with the white siding. She was sure he hated her for what she did.

"Jeremy, I want you to know that I really didn't mean for any of this to happen." He still had his back to her. Bonnie's voice became a bit more desperate. "I am so sorry. Jeremy, please..."

She tugged on his arm, and he whipped around and roughly grabbed her face. Bonnie's shock held her still long enough for Jeremy to crash his lips into hers. It only took a moment for Bonnie to realize that he was actually kissing her.

He was only able to kiss her for a moment before Bonnie was able to react. She turned her face to the side, and forcefully pushed him away. Jeremy stumbled back, with an utterly lost look on his face. "Jeremy! What the hell?" She gasped, looking at him with confusion. Bonnie sounded mad, but the look on her face was bittersweet.

"Bonnie, I'm sorry." He closed the distance her abrasive shove had created. "I just miss you...so much it hurts." She looked more confused. He took her hands in his and held them to his chest. "Do you think we can ever fix this? Fix us?"

Jeremy looked so heartbroken. She lightly tried to pull her hands away, but he gasped them tighter, looking deeper into her eyes. "I don't know. Jeremy, what you did was..." She paused trying to find words that would explain how he had hurt her, but couldn't, so she mistakenly settled for one word. "It was wrong."

As soon as the syllables left her mouth, she felt him let go of her hands. Jeremy backed away with a tight lipped smirk. It was eerie how much he was resembling a certain raven haired vampire in that moment.

"Wrong?" He repeated in a low husky voice, followed by a humorless chuckle. "I forgot who I was talking to." He was obviously hurt, but he couldn't help but sound angry and cold. "You never make any mistakes, do you?"

"Jeremy..." Bonnie was just now seeing exactly just how much their break up had been effecting him. In that moment, all she could do was say his name in the same empathetic voice she had used only moments ago, but Jeremy now seemed immune to her soft whisper.

"You know, I just figured out why you and Elena are such good friends."

Bonnie hated his tone. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jeremy was trying to hurt her. He had put himself out there and now he was being rejected. "Your self-comforting, convoluted righteousness." The more he seemed to talk, the more detached he seemed to become.

"Excuse me?" Bonnie was getting irritated.

He didn't want to say these things, but he just couldn't stop. "What's it like to look down on all us deviants from your pedal stool?"

Any trace of empathy she had been feeling was now replaced with indignation. Before Bonnie could respond, a car pulled up in front of the house. Their heads turned, and their eyes watched Tyler get out of it.

"Hey, man." Tyler greeted them warmly before seeing the looks on their faces. "Hi Bonnie." He quickly noticed the tension in the air. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked cautiously.

Jeremy looked at Bonnie, then back at Tyler. "Nothing important."

Bonnie glared at Jeremy sideways before before turning back to the hybrid standing on the sidewalk in front of them. "Tyler, what are you doing here?"

"Klaus wanted me to come by and see Elena."

"Klaus?" Bonnie's face filled with fear.

Jeremy joined her emotion. "What?"

Tyler let out a deep sigh, as he climbed the porch steps, stopping on the top one. "Don't worry, he doesn't want me to do anything. He only wanted me to check on her."

"Elena doesn't need you to check on her." Bonnie seemed to be deflecting the anger she was feeling toward Jeremy to Tyler.

"Look, I'm not here to stalk Elena. With Stefan gone, Klaus just wants me to keep an eye on her."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "Tyler, do you hear yourself? This is Klaus we're talking about?"

"You sound like Caroline." Tyler spat out, starting to now glare back at Bonnie.

Jeremy made a noise to interrupt the witch-hybrid staring match taking place in front of him. "She's sick. She's not going to school today," he sighed.

"Well, can I see her?"

"No." Bonnie snapped.

Tyler began to speak in a much calmer tone, but still sounded exasperated. "Jeremy, can I please just see her?"

Bonnie grabbed Jeremy's arm. "Jeremy, don't invite him in." Tyler flinched at her response.

Jeremy looked at her with almost a heartbreaking look that she couldn't really understand. Bonnie let go of his arm. He turned back to Tyler and frowned. "Sorry, man. It's probably not a good idea."

"Yeah, alright. Look, Klaus just wants his coffins back. Find Stefan, and get him to give him back the coffins." He started to back down the stairs. "Do you need a ride to school, Jer?" Jeremy looked back at Bonnie, she was giving him pleading eyes. Tyler narrowed his eyes, remembering that he had interrupted something. "Or are you two..." he trailed off.

Jeremy felt awful. He knew Tyler couldn't control his devotion to Klaus, but he was starting to see that he really wasn't able to trust him. "Yeah...Bonnie's driving me."

Tyler smiled. He looked back and forth between them. "Good for you two." He turned to leave, but not before adding, "I really am sorry about all this."

Bonnie and Jeremy stared after him until he had gotten in his car, and he had driven away. They shared one last fiery glare before Bonnie left Jeremy on the porch, got in her car, and pulled away.

/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/

"Ah, Tyler...come on in. What do you think of the new house?"

"Yeah, it's nice." Tyler mumbled to Klaus. His brows were narrow, and his jaw was clenched.

"Did you see the lovely Elena?"

He let out a sigh, and shook his head. "No. They said she was staying home from school. They wouldn't let me see her."

Klaus just laughed. "Of course she is."

Tyler was starting to feel even more uncomfortable than he already was. "Yeah. Well, I have to get to school."

"Wait. Before you go, I want to introduce you to my new right hand man." Klaus threw his arm over Tyler's shoulder. "Now, don't be jealous. You're still my first and favorite, but you do have what we call...a conflict of interest...in the situation." Tyler walked with Klaus until they found an extremely muscular guy with extremely short hair talking to some construction workers. He had a strong jaw line and dark brown eyes. "Rider." Klaus called his name, and he looked up. "This is Tyler."

The new hybrid approached and shook his hand firmly. "Hey. Nice to meet ya."

"You too." Tyler said with less enthusiasm.

Klaus put a hand on each of their shoulders, and started walking them both towards the door. "Now," he started in an almost fatherly tone, "Why don't you spend some time together? I'd really like the two of you to get to know one another. Tyler, why don't let you Rider tag along with you to school. You can show him the ropes...the who's who, if you will."

Tyler was obviously less than thrilled, but just nodded as his new friend followed him out the door.

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"Where is she?"

Jeremy had barged through the door of the boarding house and was now standing in the middle of the large living room. The familiar vampire brothers were sitting at opposite sides of the room, while his sister's rented body was sitting on the arm of one of the couches. They all wore gaped expressions and raised eyebrows. None of them answered.

He didn't bother to ask again. When Jeremy didn't see Elena, he immediately started to walk toward the stairs. Stefan and Damon both yelled, "Wait." They frowned at each other. Stefan got up and jetted in front of Jeremy, effectively blocking his path.

"Stay out of my way, Stefan!"

"I don't think that's a good idea. She's not exactly stable right now. Besides, she doesn't want you seeing her this way."

Jeremy glared at him. He could tell that Stefan was trying to sound like a big brother the way he used to, but Jeremy was in no mood. "I don't care. I want to see her."

Damon slowly started to cross the room. "Jeremy, Stefan's right. She..." He began to explain, but Jeremy cut him off.

"Damon, I want to see my sister." His tone started out loud and demanding, but then changed. He looked pleadingly at the vampire in love with his sister. "Please?"

Stefan looked at his brother who had seemed to go quiet. "Don't do it, Damon," Stefan warned.

"Shut up, Stefan." And although Jeremy knew it was probably out of spite, Damon started to lead him upstairs to where Elena must have been hiding.

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Before they went in, Damon paused, leaning his hand on the door knob. "Maybe you can convince her to come out of there. I don't think I can bare to see anymore food being eaten on my very nice, very expensive sheets." Jeremy just gave him an odd sideways look. Damon shrugged in response, then dramatically said, "Alright, here we go."

He opened the door and, at first, they saw no Elena. They peered around, both with a little anxiety. Almost as if they were bracing themselves for something to jump out at them. She must have heard the door open, because she immediately poked her head out of the bathroom. For some reason, they both wanted to recoil a bit.

Elena's eyes grew wide. "Jeremy, what are you doing here?" She glanced at Damon, who wasn't looking her in the eyes. She felt her heart drop a bit. "You shouldn't be here." She said sadly. Her eyes kept darting between him and Damon.

He slowly walked towards her. "Yes, I should," he said firmly.

"I'm going to leave you two alone." Damon had his hand on the door. He turned around to leave, when he heard his name.

"Damon?" It was Jeremy. Damon gave him a tight half smile and a nod. Then closed the door, leaving the siblings alone.

He turned back to Elena. "Are you ok?"

"I don't want you to see me like this...and I don't want to hurt you."

"Elena, do you remember the first day of school last year? You came storming into the boys room...killing my buzz. I think we've seen each other at our worst, don't you?"

She nodded and started to tear up. Jeremy came over to her, wrapped Elena up in his arms, and gave her a huge hug. She sobbed into him. "Jeremy, I'm glad your here." He just hugged her tighter. After that they didn't say much, and Jeremy didn't stay too long, just long enough to make Elena feel worlds better.

Elena tried to convince him to go to school, and Jeremy tried to convince her to leave the room...but neither happened. He finally left when she heard his stomach rumble. Elena made him go to the kitchen for some food. Before he left, Elena added, "Would you do me a favor?"

He tilted his head to the side. "Sure. Anything."

"Tell Damon I'm sorry."

Jeremy narrowed his eyes in confusion, but agreed. Down the hallway, Damon was smiling to himself. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help but listen.

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When Jeremy made his way down the hallway, he almost tripped on Damon who was sitting on the top step. "Jeez!"

"Sorry. I guess I kind of blend in around here."

"What old and tacky?"

Damon actually laughed at the kid's wit. He never really noticed how clever he was. "Ok, Mr Tee Shirt. I mean, do you even own a shirt with buttons?"

Jeremy let out a dry little chuckle. "You're giving me fashion advice?"

"Chicks happen to dig me," he said with a bit of swagger.

Jeremy glared, giving him a look that reminded him weirdly of Elena. "Chicks dig the Johnny Cash look?"

Damon provided a fake laugh when he had run out of comebacks. Brat had beaten him at his own game. He couldn't help but be a little proud. "So how pissed is your sister that you ditched school to come check on her?"

"Actually, she didn't really seem to care." They started to walk down the stairs together. "Guess she has a lot on her mind, what with being a vampire and all." His tone was icy, but stung like acid.

Damon stopped on the stairs. Jeremy was a few steps bellow him, when he stopped and looked back at Damon. He had a deep frown line in the middle of his forehead. "Jeremy, I tried to stop her." He was surprised at how sincere Damon sounded. He really didn't want Jeremy to be mad at him.

"Yeah, I know." He climbed the few stairs to stand next to Damon. "Elena told me it was all her idea." Jeremy cracked a half-smile. "Look, we both know when Elena gets an idea into her head, no one's gonna talk her out of it."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Got that right," he said under his breath. "So, is she still stuck on being shut up in there like a freaky little recluse?"

"Sorry. Your sheets are gonna have to take one for the team." Jeremy was giving him a weirdly stern look, almost like he was trying to intimidate Damon, or rile him up. "Guess she just really likes your room."

"Easy there," he groaned. "And cool it with the subtext."

Jeremy seemed pleased with himself that he was able to get under Damon's skin. He laughed. "It is a nice room."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered as he followed Jeremy down the stairs.

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"What do you mean you don't have a sire bond? How?" Tyler had almost served off the road when Rider told him his free will was intact.

"I don't have a sire bond, because Klaus didn't force me. I came to him. I was somewhere out in Oregon when I heard the rumor of a hybrid army from some of the wolves."

"And what? You just said, 'hey, that's for me?'"

"Pretty much."

Rider seemed nice enough, although he only gave short, vague answers. All Tyler had really learned from him was that he had been stationed overseas in the military. When he made his first kill, it activated his curse.

He wouldn't say which branch, or where he was sent. Rider told him that his first sergeant knew what he was and helped him to cover it up for awhile. However, after almost six months, he had went AWOL. He was dishonorably discharged soon after.

Tyler was still floored. "Unbelievable."

"Look, I'm not a bad guy...and I'm not crazy. I just wanted to be part of something. Klaus is part of something bigger." Just then, they pulled into the school parking lot. "So, your on the football team, right?"

"Yeah."

Rider smirked, "You get a lot of ass?"

Tyler couldn't help but share his smirk. "Well, I used to."

"Used to?"

"Yeah...well, I kinda have a girlfriend."

"Oh, yeah. Klaus mentioned something. She's a vampire right?" Tyler nodded his head, and narrowed his eyes a bit. "What do you mean kinda? You either do, or you don't?"

"It's complicated. See, I _do_ have a sire bond, and it's something she just doesn't understand."

"Hmm." An odd expression graced the ex-soldiers face. He seemed as if he didn't smile much. "Candice? Was it?"

"Caroline." Tyler got bit of a suspicious look on his face, but Rider didn't notice. Tyler had parked the car, and Rider was getting out.

Tyler got out just in time to hear him comment, "Look at that. Now that is why skin tight jeans were invented. Hey Tyler, what's Goldilocks' name?" He followed Rider's stare to see Caroline getting out of her car.

"Stay away from her."

Rider's eyes lit up. "Holy shit. Is that her? Man, I can see why you're whipped. I mean she is..."

"Don't even think about it," Tyler quickly warned.

Rider didn't seem offended, or phased at all by Tyler's attitude. "Ok, ok. Calm down. It's alright, her friend is hot too."

Tyler looked over and saw Bonnie walk towards Caroline. "Dude, she's..."

"You know, this isn't going to be any fun if you outlaw every hot girl I see. I'll stay away from your girl, but that little dark haired vixen is mine."

Tyler couldn't help but notice that Jeremy wasn't with her. He saw them start to talk. Bonnie looked serious, and Caroline was starting to look worried. Tyler deliberately didn't tune into hear them, in case they were talking about Elena. Rider still seemed to be drooling over them.

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Damon had tried one last time to get rid of Jeremy, but he wasn't backing down. "Whether you like it or not, I'm staying. I want to help."

Damon was next to Stefan at the drink cart. "Fine," he finally exasperated, "But stay out of my good liquor." Stefan and Jeremy just gave him funny looks.

A moment later Katherine sauntered into the room carrying a huge pile of Grimoires. "Great." She dropped them on the coffee table in front of Jeremy. "You can help us research how to reverse this idiotic mistake of a spell."

Stefan grabbed his drink and came over to stand next to Katherine. He started looking through the pile of tattered, old books. "This is an awful lot of Grimoires."

"Well, we were looking for a good locator to find you...but since we don't need to find you anymore..." Damon trailed off in a bitter voice.

"What were all the rest for?" Jeremy was getting comfortable in one of the chairs.

"Another one of your brilliant, well executed plans?" Stefan mocked. Katherine smirked at his comment.

"Actually, we were going to try and find the coffins, but since you have those as well," He placed the bottle he was holding down a little harder then he meant to before approaching his brother. "Tell me Stefan...where are the coffins?"

Stefan scowled. "Let's just focus on fixing your mistake. Then we'll talk about the coffins," he said sitting down on the couch. Damon gave him a tight, twisted smile and downed his drink before walking back the drink cart for more.

Katherine was trying to ignore them. "Hey kid." Jeremy glared at her. "You can start with this one," she said authoritatively, handing him a Grimoire.

"Kid?" He said in annoyance.

"_Kid_," she bit out, "I'm over 500 years old. Trust me, your a kid, ok?"

Jeremy just smirked. "You know, your not that intimidating in my sister's body."

Stefan snorted under his breath. Damon seemed pleased. "Ha!" he chortled loudly.

Katherine just gave them a look, before sitting down next to Stefan on the couch. Damon fixed himself another drink then came around to grab a Grimoire. He took a seat on the opposite couch, quickly glancing at his brother, who was eying him up.

"So, I notice all Rebekah's stuff is still in her room. Where is she?" Stefan said nonchalantly, flipping through the pages of the Grimoire on his lap.

"No idea," replied Damon in the same tone.

Stefan smirked and brought the glass tumbler to his lips. "Sure, you don't."

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It was almost an hour later when the quiet in the boarding house's living room was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up the driveway. Stefan and Damon's head both shot up. Damon's eyes went right towards the door, while Stefan's went right towards his brother. He gave him a questioning look.

After noticing the look on Stefan's face, Damon answered, "It's Caroline. She's here to see Elena...I'm assuming." They both stood up. Damon smirked, "I'll go." He used vamp speed to run out the door.

Stefan just glared after him. Katherine rolled her eyes. "Whipped much?" He glared at her.

"Katherine..." Stefan started to say something, but she put her finger over his lips.

She leaned in a bit. "Shh," she whispered, "Less talking, more reading." He rolled his eyes at her. She let her finger linger a little too long on Stefan's lips, but he didn't seem to be resisting. Instead he just stared into her eyes.

Jeremy looked between the two of them, then gave Stefan a daggered look. Stefan noticed and looked away from Katherine. He looked at Elena's little brother with tinges of something that resembled shame. Katherine looked at Jeremy. "Kid, could you stop eye-fucking Stefan and also get back to reading? Thanks." Jeremy's look only intensified.

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"Finally!" Damon called out. He was standing on the front porch watching Caroline get out of her car. "Took you're time getting here."

"I came as soon as Bonnie told me." Caroline sneered, walking towards Damon. He was leaning against one of the porch's brick pillars with his arms crossed. "Where is she?"

"Hauled up in my room...and she won't leave."

She smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure you're hating that." He smirked back and laid his classic eye move on her. Caroline rolled her eyes in response, and asked, "Why is she in _your_ room? What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing."

"Sure." Caroline frowned as she pushed past him and went into the house. As soon as she entered the living room, Stefan and her exchanged a weak smile. She was about to open her mouth to speak, but Damon quickly interjected.

"Elena's upstairs." Caroline turned around to see him standing right behind her. She glared at him, but knew he was right. She had come on a mission, and her target was upstairs. Besides, the last thing she wanted to do was spend more time than she had to with Katherine.

When Caroline reached the stairs she noticed that Damon was continuing to follow her. She turned around. "I don't need a tour guide. I unfortunately know where your room is."

"Ok," he said, but kept following her. Caroline just let out a huge, annoyed sigh.

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Caroline huffed from her spot on the bed. She was sitting next to Elena. Caroline was staring at the vampire leaning in the doorway of his bedroom. She huffed again. "Goodbye Damon." Damon showed no reaction to her words, his best sexy smirk firmly in place. Caroline rolled her eyes, and looked back to Elena. "I think maybe you should come stay with me."

"No," Elena said a little too quickly, "I want to stay here." She glanced at Damon and saw his playful expression change into a sincere half smile.

"What, in Damon's bed?" Damon was still leaning in the doorway he gave a little chuckle, "Damon, I said goodbye."

"It's my room," he said, sounding like a bratty teenager.

"I don't care. This is girl time," she smiled at Elena before turning back to him and giving him a fake one. "So get lost."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine." Then his sexy smirk was back. "But you'll let me know if start having a pillow fight, right?"

"Damon!" Caroline was beyond annoyed. Elena let a small laugh slip. She couldn't help but be amused at Damon pushing her friend's buttons.

Damon's hands flew up in mock surrender. "Alright, I'm leaving." Once Caroline turned around he shot Elena a quick smile, before finally shutting the door.

Caroline glared at Elena, who blushed. "I'm sorry, but he's..." Elena didn't want to admit that Damon tormenting Caroline was rather entertaining.

She flew her hand up and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I get it." Caroline was now wearing her classic concerned friend look. "So, how are you?"

"I think you know exactly how I am." Elena frowned, all her amusement gone.

"Yeah, that's why Damon asked me to come over."

"Damon asked you to come over?" Elena asked in surprise.

"Well, he asked Bonnie to ask me." Caroline narrowed her eyes at Elena who now seemed to be looking off into space. Her next question tore Elena back to their conversation. "How are the blood cravings?"

"They don't really seem that bad. I think maybe because Katherine's body is so used to it."

Caroline smiled. "Well, that's a plus. No awkward adjustment phase." Elena just gave her a look.

"Actually...I think I do get a little bit of a craving when I get really upset."

"That makes sense," Caroline stated matter-of-factly.

"It does?"

"Yeah. I think it's like some kind of bizarre comfort food thing. Like...macaroni and cheese," she said and smiled brightly.

Her smile was contagious, and Elena couldn't help but join in. "Or ice cream?"

"Mm. Ben and Jerry's."

Elena let out a heavenly sigh. "Dublin mudslide."

"Karamal Sutra." Caroline's eyes got even bigger. Both girls shared a laugh. When they returned to just smiling, Caroline coyly asked, "What about the other cravings?"

"Other cravings?"

"You know..._other_ cravings."

"Oh. Oh!" Elena exclaimed, finally catching on. She blushed, and lowered her voice. "So that's really a vampire thing?"

"Oh yeah. Big time," Caroline exaggerated. "It's kind of like being in an episode of Sex in the City. And not the ones in syndication. We're talking full blown HBO. Like the episode where..." She stopped herself. "And I'm getting off topic," she said, shaking an imaginary chill off her spine.

Elena laughed. "It's ok. I'm used to it. It's oddly comforting."

Caroline smiled warmly. "Ok. So, blood...sex," she counted on her fingers, "The only other thing is all your heightened emotions. Which means you're going to have to start examining your feelings."

"What do you mean?"

"Your going to have to let yourself feel," Caroline sighed, "And deal with it."

"I feel," she said unconvincingly.

"No, Elena, what you do is bottle everything up until it drives you crazy."

Elena furrowed her eyes and looked uncomfortable. "I don't do that."

"Yes, you do sweetie. Everything you can't deal with gets put off for another time. You just keep pushing your feelings away until later, hoping later will never come. Your so worried about doing what you think is the right thing, that you don't let yourself be entitled to what your actually feeling."

Elena let out a long sigh, and ran her hands through her hair. "You're right." Then she looked up at Caroline, and smiled. "How did you get so perceptive?"

"Carrie Bradshaw, of course."

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**Final A/N; I had to write Jeremy into this chapter after I got so many amazing reviews about Jeremy/Elena and Jeremy/Damon scenes from Chapter 5: A Time to Bond. Those reviews are actually what turned this into more of an ensemble story...hope you don't mind all the scenes with no D&E..they are so much harder to write, but I think they are so important to the story...**

**Can't wait to start writing some of the pairings in this story...and I'm really excited about who ****everyone 'ends up with'...I really think some of them will surprise you...goes without saying that there will be lots of Delena (and they will definitely end up together)...**

**There will also be a little bit of...you ready? Let's see if I can get these right... Stefathrine, Datherine, Forwood, Beremy, Stelena (sorry guys)... however, Katherine and Stefan do not ultimately end up together, and wait until you see who Alaric hooks up with :)**

**Also, what do you think of Caroline's take on Elena? I hope it explains anything that might seem OOC... Plus, I totally see Caroline being obsessed with Sex and the City. What do you think?**

**Anyway... xoxo til next time, Happy Reviewing!**

**TWISTED SWITCH SPOILER:**

**Couldn't resist adding a bit of a preview for chapter 11 (and titles for the next few)... In honor of TVD's newest promo, an official preview for 4x01... anyone else OMG-ing (and half crying on the inside of all the Stelena and lack of Damon)**

**Chapter 11; Getting Somewhere and Going Nowhere... Will Elena finally leave Damon's room? Yes, and according to Damon has a little bit of a "rage problem"... Someone is officially throwing their hat in the ring for Team Stelena... We'll find out which character from season two will be coming into town... Plus, some Delena plotting and more than a few heart to hearts from Ric**

**Chapter 12; sex, lies, and Grimoires... Chapter 13; Learning Curves... Chapter 14; The Truth Between the Lies... What do you think? Like I said, I couldn't help myself :)**


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